“I’ve been told that I’m not talented” – Aryna Sabalenka on being branded as one-dimensional player at the start of her career

Sabalenka had an outstanding tennis season this year, winning four titles, including two Grand Slam singles. She kicked off the year by successfully defending her title at the 2024 Australian Open, defeating Zheng Qinwen in the final.

The Belarusian went on to win the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, triumphing over Jessica Pegula in both the finals. Her final title of the season was at the Wuhan Open, where she defeated Zheng in the final to clinch the trophy. She also ended the year as the World No.1.

Recently, while speaking at the ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast, Aryna Sabalenka opened up about her journey of evolving as a player. She shared how she has worked tirelessly to enhance her game by adding variety, improving her skills, and changing the initial perception of her being “not talented”.

“I came on tour as the as the hard-hitter and I’ve been told, I don’t know for most time of my career that I’m not talented and I only can hit balls and I’m good at the baseline probably and I have to work on that consistency and I’m a big server and that’s it,” Sabalenka said.

Sabalenka added that after being deemed to be a one-dimensional player, she has worked hard to find the “right technique” and the “right shot” to better her game.

“I was just a hard worker, I could stay the whole day in court and keep working, keep trying to find the right shot and the right technique for me,” she added.

Sabalenka also credited her coach, Anton Dubrov, for helping her develop a stronger defense game, which has made a noticeable impact on her overall performance.

“Then we started working with my with my coach who’s actually quite young but I saw this vision of me that I can actually be, not only an aggressive player but I can defend, I can use the slice. I would say finally things started working together,” Sabalenka said.

Aryna Sabalenka: “My defense game & serve helped me to win all those Major tournaments”

In the aforementioned podcast, Aryna Sabalenka stated that she believes her improved serve, slaps, and defense game have been the key factors in her ability to secure Grand Slam titles.

“I would say that I wouldn’t win the Grand Slam without improving my slaps, my defence game, my serve to not only over hit the serve but sometimes put the player under pressure by changing the rhythm. I think that’s what helped me to win all those Major tournaments,” Sabalenka said.

The World No.1 expressed that having a diverse range of skills in her game allows her to get through her opponents quickly.

“Having this variety puts so much pressure on the opponent. I feel like when they step into the court I can just hit through them and they’re not going to get the ball in the right point.” she added.

In addition to claiming four titles this year, Aryna Sabalenka also had three runner-up finishes, at the 2024 Brisbane International, Madrid Open, and the Italian Open.