"I was just a hard worker": Aryna Sabalenka opens up about overcoming one-dimensional player tag

World number one, Aryna Sabalenka, has revealed that she was once labelled as a one-dimensional player. The 26-year-old is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

Sabalenka finished her best season in professional tennis, where she lifted two Grand Slams in a single year for the first time. She first lifted the Australian Open after beating China’s Qinwen Zheng in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2. She then lifted the US Open as well after beating America’s Jessica Pegula in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-5.

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Those performances helped Sabalenka claim the top spot in the WTA Rankings where she replaced Swiatek. The Minsk-born star’s season ended in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she participated in the WTA Finals. She lost in the semifinal to eventual winner America’s Coco Gauff in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3. Sabalenka has been recently quoted in a report revealing that she was once described as a one-dimensional player. The reigning world number one in women’s tennis further talked about how much hard work she had to do to overcome some of the problems she faced in the early stages of her career.

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“I came on tour as the as the hard-hitter and I’ve been told, I don’t know for most time of my career that I’m not talented and I only can hit balls and I’m good at the baseline probably and I have to work on that consistency and I’m a big server and that’s it,” she said. “I was just a hard worker, I could stay the whole day in court and keep working, keep trying to find the right shot and the right technique for me. Then we started working with my with my coach who’s actually quite young but I saw this vision of me that I can actually be, not only an aggressive player but I can defend, I can use the slice. I would say finally things started working together.”