Aryna Sabalenka highlights what she looks for when watching tennis on television - "I'm looking into the mental side of the game"

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka wasted little time in securing passage to the 2025 Miami Open final, and admitted she tends to watch her peers play on television during her spare time.

The big-hitting Belarusian is yet to drop a set in Miami, powering past defending champion Danielle Collins in the round of 16. After dispatching of Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng in the quarterfinal, Sabalenka made quick work of sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, recording an easy 6-2 6-2 win to book her spot in the final.

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Sabalenka admits to watching a lot of tennis on television

Following her victory over Paolini, Sabalenka was asked to delve into her routine after a match. The two-time Australian Open champion stated she often has a late dinner, then revealed she spends the rest of the night watching tennis.

"Well, I usually go for dinner, but other than that, it's always tennis on my TV, actually," said Sabalenka. "I don't know why. I'm actually enjoying, like, watching tennis lately. That's crazy. I'm getting old."

Sabalenka was then asked if she analyzed any of the matches while watching them, and the 26-year old spoke on what she took away from each exercise.

"When I watch men's tennis, I definitely try to see what they do differently," explained Sabalenka. "I mean, obviously a lot of things, but yeah, I'm trying to see something like what I could try to practice and try to get better at and try to bring on court.
"When I watch girls, I mean, yeah, I'm just trying to see what are they doing, where are they struggling, trying to analyze a little bit. But also, I'd say that whenever I watch tennis, I more watch it from a mental side of the game, because I see some of the things and I'm curious, like, okay, how the player going to handle this pressure? Especially men's, like what they are going to do under this pressure?
"So I'm, like, I think whenever I watch tennis, I'm more looking into, like, mental side of the game."

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Sabalenka will face American Jessica Pegula in the final on Saturday, in what should be a highly-anticipated rematch of the 2024 US Open final.

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