“I believe short memory is the key”: Aryna Sabalenka’s cold-blooded formula for WTA domination

Aryna Sabalenka spoke about the consistency she has found in the last year, which has her as world No. 1 with more than 3,000 points separating her from her closest pursuer, Iga Swiatek. Recently, the Belarusian surpassed 11,000 points in the Ranking, becoming only the third player to achieve this after Serena Williams and Swiatek.

The world No. 1 arrived in Rome as a huge favorite, winning 19 of her last 21 matches, with titles in the last two WTA 1000 events at the Miami Open and the Madrid Open last week. "So far this season has been super nice to me," Sabalenka said after the title in Madrid. "Every time I'm coming to a tournament, I'm not thinking about the previous one. I'm like, 'OK, whatever, we leave it there'."

In the last 52 weeks, she has played 80 matches with a 67-13 record. She currently holds the US Open title, four WTA 1000 titles, and a WTA 500 title in Brisbane at the start of the year. Added to this are three other final appearances and two semifinals. The title in Madrid only confirms that Sabalenka is a more than deserving No. 1 and one of the most consistent players in history. "I'm happy, we celebrate, but then I leave it there behind and I start everything over again," she said.

"That's been working really well, and I'm not staying too long in success, and also I'm not staying in some of the tough losses. Like short memory, I believe that's the key," she added.

Among the last 9 Grand Slams – since the 2022 US Open – Sabalenka reached five finals and won three titles: Australian Open (2023-2024) and US Open (2024). Additionally, Sabalenka reached four other semifinals, and her 'worst performance' was the quarterfinals of Roland Garros 2024.

She has a remarkable 47-5 record in Grand Slams since the beginning of 2023. The situation is not very different in WTA 1000 tournaments. In the last 10 WTA 1000 events, she won 3 titles and reached three other finals, with a 43-7 record.

"Some of the finals I lost were really heartbreaking and were really tough to accept," added the 3-time Grand Slam champion. "I understand that sometimes you just have to learn, and sometimes you're not that good on court, you just have to accept, learn from that loss, and come back stronger."

"What I'm actually proud of is that I was able to come back to those finals, and I was able to change things and see if the lesson was learned, try to bring better tennis in the next final."

The Belarusian prepares for her debut this Friday, May 9th, in the second round of the Italian Open against Anastasia Potapova, whom she defeated in their only previous encounter, precisely on clay courts back in the Stuttgart 2023 semifinals (6-1, 6-2).