"Before I was so closed and I was afraid to open up": Paula Badosa friendship brought Aryna Sabalenka out of her shell

After successfully defending her title at the 2024 Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka opened up on her personal life, including her friendship with Spaniard Paula Badosa.

Sabalenka defeated Qinwen Zheng in the final on Saturday to lift her second career Grand Slam title, plowing through the opposition without dropping a set in the entire tournament. Already a fan favorite, the Belarusian stole the hearts of even more fans with her quirks and dances during the two-week event.

The World No.2 was quick to admit she had been too emotional in the early parts of her career, but has since made several personal improvements that have helped her in her professional and personal life.

“I would say that I’m more open right now. I’m happy that I was able to build some friendships, like with Paula,” she told WTA Insider. “Because before I was so closed and I was so afraid to open up to people. I’m happy that I have such a friend like Paula. She’s the best. I love this girl. I think we’re kind of similar.
“And it’s not like I wasn’t respecting people before, but I respect everyone more than I used to. I cannot ignore the fact that I’m really proud that I was able to understand myself better. I have this control of myself. That’s quite an obvious thing. Everyone sees that, but it’s really tough to improve when you’re such an emotional person and you’re used to getting super emotional every time. To actually become really in control on court, it’s really tough work.”