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Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam at the 2023 Australian Open. But little everyone knows about the lead-up to that. Similar to any other person, Sabalenka was really scared of getting back on the court.
Back then, she was not the star player she is not, and thus, she contained doubts about herself whether she would be able to retain her skills after the shutdown of sports for the better part of two years.
One Friday, Sabalenka's coach, Jason Stacy, joined Dr Kristen Holmes on her show to talk about the Belarusian doubts regarding herself just after the pandemic. The high-performance coach claimed the real problem the Belarusian faced before she emerged as a Grand Slam champion in Melbourne.
"After COVID, when we first went back to the US Open, there was this moment where she genuinely was terrified that she was going to not know how to play tennis ever again, like she was done," Stacy said. "Imagine that. You're like, 'What? You're telling us this now?'
"But you could see it was a real thing inside of her. I mean, she's obviously worked through that and managed it, but there's still this part of her where, so the biggest obstacle really was her understanding that, okay, for us to progress, for her to grow and to mature and to become what she wants to become, she has to open up a little bit. Even if it's just a tiny little crack. You know, like you might say, Brené Brown, vulnerability. You know? Because that's what it really was."
Stacy revealed that he questioned Sabalenka to be "vulnerable" and open up a "tiny bit" because otherwise she was "uncoachable."
"It was just about her allowing herself to face those deeper fears that we all have," Stacy added. "Not all this stuff about, you know, everyone talks about discomfort and fighting and grinding and all that. That’s just a bunch of superficial crap. Everyone knows there are things we're all lying to ourselves about. It’s like, no, no, you need to just face those real fears. And there have been a few moments that we've done that with her, and she’s done that.
"But that was the biggest challenge, the obstacle, getting her to create that environment where it was safe enough for her to trust that she could open that door a little bit."
Aryna Sabalenka's breakout year in 2023
Aryna Sablenka finally reached the pinnacle at the top of the Tennis World in 2023. She started the season, winning her first Australian Open and claimed the World No.1 ranking for the first time in her career.
That year, she reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slams, becoming the first woman to do so since Serena Williams in 2016.
After that, it was only an upward trajectory for the Belarusian player. In 2024, she reclaimed the No.1 ranking and was honored as WTS Player of the Year. She defended her Australian Open title in 2024 and won her third Grand Slam at the 2024 US Open.
Once again, in 2025, she finished as No.1, while also defending her US Open title.
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