"If she ever wants to do it again, go ahead": Help not a hindrance as Aryna Sabalenka says umpire call gave her fire she needed to topple Svitolina

Aryna Sabalenka admitted she is simply “doing my job” after reaching a fourth consecutive Australian Open final, as she continued her love affair with Melbourne and set up another blockbuster showdown with Elena Rybakina.

The world number one booked her place in Saturday’s final with a hard-fought semi-final victory, extending her remarkable run at Melbourne Park and underlining once again why the Australian Open has become her most successful Grand Slam.

“I don’t know, I just love this place,” Sabalenka said. “I love this stadium and every time I’m competing here, I really enjoy my time. I love Melbourne — it feels like everything about Melbourne I love — so I’m really enjoying my time.”

Despite her consistency at the tournament, Sabalenka was unwilling to compare her current form with previous years, insisting she is focused solely on the present.

“I don’t like to compare myself, not even to yesterday,” she said. “I don’t think that’s a good thing to do. You have to just go out there and do everything you can with what you have today.

“Every time I look back at the times when my form was good, I try to replicate it, and that’s not good. But right now I feel good about my tennis. Everything I worked on during the preseason is working, and I’m happy with that. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

Sabalenka also reflected on lessons learned from last season’s finals, revealing she has made a conscious mental shift in how she approaches the biggest matches.

“I actually know what was wrong in all of those finals that I played and lost,” she explained. “Last year was full of lessons — lots of things to learn about myself — and that’s definitely not going to happen again this season.

“It’s a different mentality that I’ll try to have in every final. The frustrations before came from not accepting what was happening in the moment. Now I’m ready for whatever happens in a final.

“I’m ready to go out there and fight with what I have and do everything I can. When I have that mentality, I play my best tennis. I’m there, I’m fighting, I have my opportunities. That’s my approach this season.”

One of the talking points from the semi-final was an early hindrance call against Sabalenka, something she admitted had never happened to her before.

“That’s never happened to me — never,” she said. “Especially with my grunting. It was just so off. The ball was deep, the bounce was a bit wrong, the timing was off, and I was just exhaling. It happened naturally.

“Then she called it and I was like, ‘What is wrong with you?’ I think it was the wrong call, but whatever.”

Rather than derailing her, the incident appeared to sharpen Sabalenka’s focus.

“She really p**** me off and it actually helped my game,” she said. “I became more aggressive. I wasn’t happy with the call, but it helped me win that game. So if she ever wants to do it again, go ahead. Call it. It’s going to help me.”

Asked whether moments of perceived injustice often bring out her best tennis, Sabalenka said the key was recognising what she could and could not control. “Today it helped me because I played more aggressively,” she said. “But if it’s not in my control, I don’t care about it. I asked for the video review, the call stayed the same, and I knew it wasn’t going to change. That’s the right approach.”

Attention now turns to a final against Elena Rybakina, a rival Sabalenka knows well and respects deeply. The pair have contested several big matches, including Sabalenka’s breakthrough Australian Open title. “I think her shots are heavy — deep, flat balls,” Sabalenka said. “It’s not easy to deal with. She’s an incredible player. We’ve had a lot of great battles and played a lot of finals. If it’s her, I’m really looking forward to battling that power.”

However, Sabalenka insisted past matches will have little bearing on the final. “I’m not going to look at that first final,” she said. “Both of us are different players now. We’ve been through different things. We’re much stronger mentally and physically, and we’re playing better tennis. I’ll approach it as a completely different match. We’ve had a long history since then, but I’ll treat it like the first one and do my very best.”

Sabalenka also addressed the lack of a post-match handshake, a topic that has drawn attention in recent tournaments. “I’m not focusing on that,” she said. “They’ve been doing it for a long time. It’s their decision and I respect it. She knows that I respect her as a player, and I know she respects me. That’s all I care about.”

In lighter moments, Sabalenka explained the meaning behind her blue sapphire necklace — inspired by “blue sky, waves, ocean” — and made a point of praising her defeated opponent.

“I didn’t really get the chance to say it earlier,” she said. “So I’ll say it now: great job, great match, great player, amazing tournament. She played incredible.”

Looking further ahead, Sabalenka welcomed speculation about Serena Williams potentially returning to the tour. “That’s amazing,” she said. “Whatever makes her happy, I’m happy for her. If she wants to come back, that’s her decision. It would be fun to see her back on tour.”

As for her place in Australian Open history, Sabalenka brushed aside suggestions that she may be defining an era at Melbourne Park.

“I’m not thinking about that,” she said. “I’m just doing my job. One point at a time, one game, one set. That’s my focus.

“Maybe at the end of my career we can sit down and talk about that. Right now, I’m just trying to do my job as best as I can.”