"If you do it enough, people are going to remember": Andy Roddick highlights secret behind 'fantastic' Aryna Sabalenka's recent US Open triumph

Former world number one Andy Roddick has highlighted the reason behind the dominance of Aryna Sabalenka in women’s tennis. The 27-year-old recently lifted her fourth Grand Slam as she successfully managed to defend the US Open title after beating America’s Amanda Anisimova in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6.

The win was an important one for Sabalenka, who came into the competition on the back of two heartbreaking defeats in the final of the Grand Slams in 2025. She first suffered a defeat in the final of the Australian Open to America’s Madison Keys with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 7–5. Then at the French Open, Sabalenka lost to another American player, Coco Gauff, with a score of 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–4.

Even at Wimbledon, Sabalenka had an impressive run and suffered a shocking defeat in the semifinal to Anisimova with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The year 2025 became the first in Sabalenka’s career in which she played in the final of three Grand Slams. It is only the second time in Sabalenka’s career that she managed to play in the semifinal of every Grand Slam in a calendar year.

Former men’s world number one Roddick, in a recent episode of his own podcast, explains how Sabalenka remains so consistent while competing at the highest level in professional tennis. Roddick explained that Sabalenka consistently put herself in a position to achieve greater things, and according to him, once an athlete does it consistently in sports, sooner or later, in most cases, they end up achieving bigger things as well.

“I think the thing with Sabalenka is that are we always perfect in the biggest moment? No,” he said while speaking in the Serve with Andy Roddick latest episode. “You hear players say and a lot of other people ignore that you put yourself in those situations enough and you are going to figure that out when you are that good. So, the narrative is, you know, last year she can’t lose and coming into this year, favourite in every tournament which she is and I have luckily picked her in three events and then didn’t pick her in the one she won. But yourself in those positions enough, you are going to figure it out. It doesn’t mean like it there’s this weird narrative around sports where its like you are either so clutch or you are not. And there is like no middle like. Yea, you are clutch most of the time, and this is sports. Like it’s imperfect. It’s matchups, it’s wins. It’s Roland Garros when it’s blowing 40. It’s Madison Keys that didn’t see a forehand. She didn’t hit that for a winner. It’s I get nervous because I haven’t won Wimbledon and I play this big-hitting Anisimova. And then, I go to New York and I probably have more question marks than when I enter any other event, for the entire year. And obviously that mean’s I am going to win and clutch up in the final. No. This is why sports is amazing. Sabalenka continues to put herself in these positions and if you do it enough, people are going to remember your wins. They are just going to.”

Roddick then went on to explain the moment when he thought that Sabalenka won the match against Anisimova in the final of the US Open. Roddick stated that he is not sure whether Sabalenka had that particular shot in her armoury three years back, when she was winning a Grand Slam, but in his opinion, that particular shot made Anisimova believe that she was not going to end on the positive side of the result on Saturday.

“The shot that won her this match, that set the patterns, that let Anisimova know what she couldn’t get away with, Anisimova goes big outside return straight through the middle,” said Roddick. “Sabalenka has this like outside the ball like you known when you are trying to throw a 7/10 split, and you kind of work outside and then in, that shape straight away to the open court to get Anisimova on the move where it’s not this flat ball. She is not falling away. It’s this kind of ball that she spun to her forehand. She hit it six or seven times in like super clutch moments. It’s 15-30, 30-15, but the pressure is on. The crowd is getting loud. That was the silencer. And it’s weird when it’s not some big, powerful, grunty situation, where she is screaming at the end, it doesn’t grasp our attention the same. That ball, that shot, I don’t thinks he had three years ago. She could win slams with what she had before because she was so dominant but that ball where she is almost diffusing power but still redirecting with that like [Jannik] Sinner spin mechanism and margin. I don’t know if she worked on that specifically, I don’t know if that was a game plan but she is just fantastic.”