By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday January 10, 2025
As the most dominant hardcourt player in the women’s game, and two-time defending Australian Open champion, expectations are as high as they’ve ever been for Aryna Sabalenka this year in Melbourne.
But the three-time major champion doesn’t want to dwell on any of that. She just wants to take things game by game and stay in her happy place.
“I don’t want to think too much about it,” the top seed said at Friday’s Australian Open media day. “I just want to do my job. Hopefully by the end of this tour I’ll be super proud of myself and I’ll be able to put my name down in history.”
Sabalenka ranked no. 1, who will face American Sloane Stephens in first-round action, says she doesn’t mind that the rest of the tournament is hot for her. She says playing with a target on her back is exactly where she wants to be.
“I’ve always liked taking on really tough challenges,” she said. “For me to be the one to follow, I like it. I like this feeling. That’s what drives me and helps me stay motivated because I know I have a target on my back. I really like having it. That’s why I work so hard, to make sure no one can get to me.”
Whatever happens in Australia, Sabalenka is backed by the confidence that comes from experience. She has won 14 consecutive Melbourne titles and 14 consecutive Slams. She has learned how to deal with the rigors of her job at a major two-week event and is good at breaking up and hanging out when she’s not on the court.
“My mindset changed a lot,” she said when asked to compare herself to the player who won her first Australian title two years ago. “The approach to hitting is different. Priorities are different. I would say that I have changed a lot mentally. I get it: ‘Okay, I got it, I know how to do this.’
“I know how to share life on and off the court. Before an extra day off would be too much for me because I would be thinking a lot about the next game.”
