Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. I’m super excited to share some awesome news with you all about Aryna Sabalenka’s incredible winning streak and her success in China.
Aryna Sabalenka, the Belarusian tennis star, has been on fire lately. She recently sealed a 6-2 6-2 win over Ashlyn Krueger to improve her record to 14 consecutive victories. This streak is quite impressive, especially given that she’s the top favorite for the title at the China Open due to Iga Swiatek’s absence this week.
But what’s even more fascinating is how Sabalenka handles the pressure. During a recent press conference, one reporter brought up an interesting stat: Sabalenka has only twice in 18 cases won tournaments where she was the top seed. The reporter asked her to explain what it’s like under that pressure and if she was determined to “flip the narrative” this week in Beijing.
Sabalenka’s response was both hilarious and insightful. She noted that she never thought about that particular stat before and hilariously accused the reporter of being the one who’s causing her to feel pressure.
“You’re the one who’s putting pressure on me. Before, like, this question came up, I didn’t even think about that (laughter). I don’t know. Maybe like in the past it was some sort of pressure. Nowadays, I’m not focusing on that. It’s just the ranking. You can be world No. 1, and if you’re not bringing your best tennis, like, you’re not going to win the match. Every time you’re on the court, you have to bring your best tennis. If it’s not the best tennis, you have to fight for every point,” Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka’s success in China is nothing new. Since her early days on the WTA Tour, Asian soil has been a happy hunting ground for her. In 2017, she made her first WTA semifinal in Tianjin before falling short to Maria Sharapova in a tight two-setter. She then went on to win back-to-back Wuhan titles in 2018 and 2019, as well as the Shenzhen title in 2019. Due to the pandemic, she didn’t play in China again until last year when she lost to Elena Rybakina in the Beijing quarterfinal.
When asked if she had a sense from Day 1 that China could be a special region for her, Sabalenka laughed and said, “Well, back then I didn’t really think a lot (laughter). I was just playing my tennis. I don’t know. Like, it sounds crazy, right? I played so many tournaments in China and I played really well in most of them. Yeah, the stats are impressive in China. I mean, I can assume it’s the fried rice that probably does that magic, I don’t know (smiling). I don’t know, I love playing in China. I love the conditions. I love the crowd. It’s really great atmosphere. It feels like the tennis community became bigger here, more people watching us playing. It’s really amazing to see. Yeah, I’m just enjoying atmosphere,” she said.
Sabalenka still doesn’t necessarily feel that she is playing her best tennis despite her impressive streak. “Well, maybe right now, like, I’m not playing my best, best tennis. But I think the way I’m controlling my emotions and the way I’m holding myself sometimes really helping me to stay in most of the matches, in those difficult situations to keep fighting and keep playing my best tennis. So I think, yeah, control over my emotions, that’s the key,” she explained.
Against Madison Keys, Sabalenka has three wins and one loss. She won both of their two meetings on hard courts while they split their two meetings on grass. If she beats Keys in this year’s Beijing quarterfinal, she will win her 15th consecutive match and tie her previous longest winning streak.
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