A few days after winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023
Australian Open,
Aryna Sabalenka remarked that the Land Down Under is her favorite country in the world.
The Belarusian star had previously failed thrice in the semifinal stages of the Majors. She finally emerged victorious as she defeated 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the Melbourne summit clash on January 28.
Rallying from a set down, Sabalenka beat the Kazakh player 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and regained her career-best ranking of No. 2. She also won the Adelaide International 1 earlier in January and remains undefeated so far this season.
The 24-year-old player recently held a Q&A session with her social media followers. She shared that her next tournament will be the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, to be played from February 19-25.
A fan from Australia stated that the Aussies loved her and asked whether she liked the country, to which she replied:
"My fav country now. Love you guys."
Another follower asked how her life had changed since becoming a Grand Slam champion. In response, Sabalenka shared an adorable video of her friend's infant trying to pull her by the hand. She joked that her coaches were trying to get her to practice in a similar manner. She then answered the question seriously, saying:
"Kidding. Not much, keep working a lot."
The World No. 2 wished her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov, a former ice hockey player, on Valentine's Day. She named ice hockey the sport she loved the most after tennis and also picked her 2023 Australian Open outfit as her favorite on the court.