“The training session is built around the match”: Dinara Safina reveals Sabalenka's winning Madrid prep

Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina, current coach of Diana Shnaider, spoke about Aryna Sabalenka's preparation for the Madrid Open that led her to win her third title in the Spanish capital. The Belarusian now has 8 WTA 1000 titles after defeating Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) on Saturday, May 3rd.

The Russian reached world No. 1 and held that position for 26 weeks, despite never winning a Grand Slam title. Nevertheless, she reached finals at the Australian Open and French Open, and semifinals at Wimbledon in the same year.

Safina recently returned to the WTA Tour, albeit in her new role as a coach, as she has been working with world No. 11 Diana Shnaider for several weeks. The 21-year-old reached the round of 16 in Madrid but fell to Iga Swiatek in a tight three-set match 0-6, 7-6(3), 4-6.

Regarding the preparations for the tournament, Safina was able to closely observe the training of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, explaining how she prepares to face a tournament like this. "When the tournament starts, she only plays with sparring partners; the day before the match, they practice tactics for the opponent... The whole training is based on a match with Coco, Andrey plays along like Coco."

"I watched the training. The entire combination, the training session is built around the match. Attack to the right, attack to the right, and then a free corner. Here we have a sparring session, and what Coco is doing kind of plays into her hands a little bit. This is how they line it up straight."

Safina was close to coaching Sabalenka back in 2019 when the Belarusian parted ways with her former coach Dmitry Tursunov. Sabalenka offered Safina a position in her team, but the Russian declined. Meanwhile, Safina is working with Shnaider as they seek to reach the coveted top 10, after several months in which the 21-year-old has remained just a few points away from her first appearance among the world's top 10.