"Right now my team are trying to avoid and escape me, they see it’s not really healthy to be around me": Aryna Sabalenka admits defeat tough to take

Aryna Sabalenka cut a raw, emotional and at times humorous figure in her post-match press conference following her defeat in the 2026 Australian Open final, describing missed opportunities, a rapid momentum shift in the deciding set, and a growing belief that she is still moving in the right direction despite another Grand Slam final loss.

Sabalenka was generous in defeat, crediting her opponent’s fearless aggression while admitting frustration at her own inability to fully capitalise on key moments. “I mean, she played an incredible match and I tried my very best,” Sabalenka said post match. “I was fighting to the very last point. I had my opportunities. It feels like I missed a couple, but it’s tennis, you know. Today you’re a loser, tomorrow you’re a winner. So hopefully I’ll be more of a winner this season than a loser.”

The turning point came in the third set, where Sabalenka found herself 3–0 ahead before the match slipped away at speed.

“I think it was really aggressive tennis overall, like the whole match,” she explained. “In that moment she kind of had nothing to lose, so she stepped in and played incredible points. She was serving, so it was just one break. “Maybe I should have tried to be more aggressive on my serve, knowing that I had a break and put pressure on her. But she played incredible. She made some winners. I made a couple of forced errors.”

The Belarusian admitted that the swing from control to deficit happened almost instantly. “Of course I have regrets when you lead 3–0. Then it felt like in a few seconds it was 3–4 and I was down a break. It was very fast. Great tennis from her. Maybe not so smart from me. But as I say, today I’m a loser. Maybe tomorrow I’m a winner. Maybe again a loser. Hopefully not.”

Despite the disappointment, Sabalenka arrived at the press conference laughing — an unusual sight after a Grand Slam final defeat. She later revealed it was part of an emotional release rather than indifference.

“I was laughing and crying. It was a hysterical moment,” she said. “Nothing really productive — I was just letting everything go out. I was really upset with myself because once again I had opportunities. I played great to a certain point, and then I couldn’t resist the aggression that she had on court today.”

Still, she was able to take a broader view of her tournament and performance. “Overall, I played great tennis here in Australia, even in this final. I was fighting. I did my best. And today she was the better player.”

Sabalenka joked that her team were currently keeping their distance. “We’ll speak with the team. Right now they’re trying to avoid and escape me, because they see it’s not really healthy to be around me.”

The loss marked another Grand Slam final defeat for Sabalenka, but she was keen to stress that she views each one on its own terms. “I take each loss individually,” she said. “It was different players almost every time, different problems during the match, different mistakes. Some of them were great matches. I played incredible.”

Importantly, she believes her mentality in finals has improved significantly compared to previous seasons. “Overall it was much better than last year,” she said. “Level-wise, the decisions I was making, the mentality throughout the whole match — I was still there. I was ready to fight. I knew she wasn’t going to give it easily to me.

“I made a huge improvement on that, and I still lost. But it’s OK. I feel like I’m moving in the right direction.”

She also acknowledged the growth in her opponent’s game, pointing to confidence and aggression as key differences. “She definitely has more confidence and goes for her shots without any doubt,” Sabalenka said. “The level was incredible. She played more aggressively. She was able to build great confidence starting from finals. As a result, she got a Slam, which is an incredible achievement.”

Asked about her wider ambitions, Sabalenka briefly stepped away from the bigger picture. “Right now, I don’t want to think about tennis,” she admitted. “But the ambitions are still the same: keep fighting, keep working hard, keep putting myself out there and try my best. If I have another chance in the final, just go there and do my best.”

There would be no immediate post-mortem on the loss. “Today? Oh, f*** you. No,” she laughed, when asked about debriefing with her team. “Maybe in a week. Or maybe in a few days. Whenever I feel like I can move on from this one.”

Finally, addressing comments about composure in the deciding set, Sabalenka accepted that her opponent handled the crucial moments better.

“I was 3–0 up, then I lost my focus, it became 3–4,” she said. “She did a better job handling that pressure moment, that’s for sure.”