Chris Oddo| @thefanchild | Sunday, May 4, 2025
Another title in Madrid has once again made experts wonder if it was a year Aryna Sabalenka Her success in the Spanish capital could be made a victory for Paris.
Sabalenka has scored 37-8 on clay since early 2023 but has never won the championship in other places other than Caja Majica in Madrid, and he certainly hopes 2025 is the year.
“I hope this will be different,” she said with a smile after defeating Coco Gauff on Saturday.
Sabalenka’s best performance at Roland-Garros in 2023 is the semi-final, and he says she has more faith in her ostensible potential every year.
“I honestly have more confidence in the game on the clay court,” she said. “I had a really fierce battle in the last stage of the game in the past. I was in the semi-finals and I was really close to the finals. I was just going there to play and fight competitively and mentally. I was ready to fight physically and mentally, I was ready to work the same as me and I really hope it would be different this year.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lujqjgg8kpa
Whatever happens in Rome and Paris, Sabalenka retains her sponge-like lead in the rankings. She currently scored 11,118 points in the live rankings, nearly 4,000 points ahead of Iga Swiatek.
Sabalenka is the third woman in history, amassing over 11,000 rankings ever, along with Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek.
WTA, 11000 Points Club
1. Serena Williams, 2013 13615
2. Iga Swiatek, 2024 11695
3. Aryna Sabalenka, 11118, 2025
“To be honest, it’s so crazy for me, and I’ve been working on achieving that and being out of the rankings, which means a lot,” she said. “It gives me that, I don’t know, I kind of feel like I don’t feel like my life is like a waste of time.”
Stay away from it. Sabalenka, a three-time minority champion, seems destined to double at some point in her career.
She said she was always looking for ways to improve her game and her dedication to Craft was one of the biggest reasons why she ran on the WTA rankings all year round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bdy_7clvlg
“Overall, as an athlete, it’s always trying, always getting better, always taking a step back and watching your own game, seeing what you have to improve, and then going out on the driving field and working on it.”
She said the biggest key to success is her unremitting pursuit of evolution in the game.
“I’ve been working hard to improve my game and bring all kinds of things into the game, and I think that’s the biggest key in most games right now,” she said on Saturday. “I’m glad we’ve been able to improve our game in all respects.”
Starting with bedrock, she doesn’t need to prompt for listing these improvements.
“Exercise,” she said. “And my touch game is much better now, and I trust my touch game more now. I think it’s been working hard and always looking for something that can improve and become better.”
