She’s the world No. 1, a player who doesn’t just hit hard but owns every inch of the court. But even Aryna Sabalenka has had times when emotions got the better of her. Remember the 2025 Australian Open final? She was one set away from a third straight title, but Madison Keys spoiled the dream with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 upset. After Sabalenka smashed her racquet out of frustration, social media was ablaze with comments criticizing her for her “angeria issues”. Ten months and one U.S. Open title later, what has she taken away from it all?
Aryna Sabalenka is taking a moment to reflect on her progress as she prepares for the WTA Finals 2025 in Riyadh. Sabalenka recently spoke candidly about the emotional development that influenced her season in an interview with “The National News”. “There was terrible control over my emotions,” she admitted, speaking about her finals losses to Madison Keys in Melbourne and Coco Gauff in Roland Garros.
“I think the main lesson that I learnt is that no matter what, doesn’t matter how I feel, how frustrated I am inside, I still have to try to stay calm and try to think clear, just try to focus on the plan that I have for the match. No matter what, stay in control.” Interestingly, a big influence behind her calmer mindset has been her good friend Novak Djokovic.
Last month, Sabalenka trained with him in his home base of Greece. “How to stay settled and how to look at everything as you’re looking from the outside on the situation on the court, off the court. Just to, like, be able to sit back and look at everything,” described Sabalenka on the advice she received from the 24-time Grand Slam Champion. “Kind of like it’s not you looking, it’s someone else looking at your situation. I think that’s the best lesson you could take from Novak.”
That advice was simple but effective for a player who used to play with such visible frustration. Just think back to the 2025 French Open final, where Aryna Sabalenka lost to Coco Gauff 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4. After the match, her frustration poured through in her words.
“I think she won the match not because she played incredible…Just because I made all those mistakes, if you look from the outside, from kind of easy balls,” Aryna Sabalenka said in her press conference. Her comments drew plenty of criticism, with many saying she downplayed Gauff’s performance. But since then, something has shifted. In fact, Sabalenka revealed that in past years, she often believed losing a match meant “something terrible” would happen.
For a long time, she leaned on a sports psychologist to help her manage those fears. But eventually felt she was relying on someone else to “fix” her and wasn’t taking responsibility. At that point, she decided: “I have to take responsibility over my actions. And I stopped working with psychologists. And that was the moment when I started learning about myself, when I actually understood myself better.” It’s that inner shift, more than any trophy or ranking. But will she be able to manage her emotions in the upcoming match? Because this rivalry is real.
The real test of emotions for Aryna Sabalenka
Now that Aryna Sabalenka is set to open her WTA Finals 2025 campaign in Riyadh, all eyes are on how the world No. 1 handles both her game and her emotions. She’ll take on eighth seed Jasmine Paolini on Sunday, the only player this year to qualify for both singles and doubles.
The two have faced each other before, most recently in the 2024 WTA Finals round-robin stage, where Sabalenka won in straight sets, and the Belarusian currently leads their head-to-head 5-2. But this time, it feels different. Sabalenka has spoken openly about learning to stay calm under pressure, and fans will be watching to see if she can channel that control when the tension hits on court.
We know Sunday is going to be packed with action. After Aryna Sabalenka’s match, the day will close with an all-American showdown between Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Just a few weeks ago, Gauff defeated Pegula in the Wuhan Open final, and their rivalry has only grown stronger since. The two have met at the WTA Finals for three straight years. Gauff won the group stage last year, while Pegula won their semifinal in 2023.
As the reigning champion, Gauff now aims to make history by becoming the first female champion to win the title twice in a row since Serena Williams in 2014. Sunday in Riyadh already feels like the kind of tennis you don’t want to miss, with Gauff attempting to make history and Sabalenka trying to maintain composure, while fending off the competition.