The world No.1 in tennis, Aryna Sabalenka, “hungry”, claimed Thursday to be “ready” to win a third consecutive title at the Australian Open next month, adding that she still had plenty of room for improvement. The 26-year-old Belarusian had a successful 2024, reaching seven finals and winning four titles, including two Majors (Australia and US Open).
Her first goal in 2025 will be to defend this title in Melbourne, where she has been undefeated since 2022. If she wins again, she would become the first woman to win three consecutive singles titles at Melbourne Park since Switzerland's Martina Hingis between 1997 and 1999. .
Brisbane to get started
“I feel rested and ready“, she told the WTA website upon her arrival in Brisbane, where she will begin her season from Sunday, in preparation for the Australian Open (starting January 12). “I love Australia and always come hungry and ready. I feel a lot of support here, and I think that's the best thing about Australia: people really, really feel the tennis“.
At the start of 2024, Sabalenka also debuted in Brisbane, reaching the final without losing a single set, before losing to Kazakh Elena Rybakina. She spent the off-season at home in Florida before going to the Middle East to prepare, meeting her great rival, the Polish Iga Swiatek, in Abu Dhabi.
“You work hard on a lot of things during the pre-season. And the first tournament is where you can experiment and see what's going to work well, and what's not going to work.“, explained the Belarusian. Despite her presence at the top of the world hierarchy, Aryna Sabalenka believes that there are still areas in her game that need to be improved. “I'm not very good at the net, and even my serve is not as good as I would like“, she noted in particular.
