"They move really great": Aryna Sabalenka names her two 'toughest opponents'

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has revealed her two toughest opponents on the tour. The 27-year-old recently lifted the US Open title for the second time in her career after beating America’s Amanda Anisimova in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, on Saturday.

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.

Sabalenka has recently appeared on the Jay Shetty Podcast, where she was asked about who her toughest opponent is both physically and mentally. In response to that, Sabalenka named America’s Gauff and Poland’s Iga Swiatek as her most formidable physical opponent. Sabalenka also highlighted that mentally, her most prominent opponent is herself, as every other player on the tour brings a different challenge.

“Coco [Gauff] and Iga [Swiatek are my toughest opponents physically],” said Sabalenka. “These two like I think physically brings the biggest challenge. They move really great. So some times you build a point and probably with others, this shot would be a point but with them, sometimes you have to rebuild the point and physically it’s not easy. Mentally it’s not easy to like you know to stay strong and be ready that the ball is going to come back every time. You have to be like really physically strong to handle that intensity. I cannot pick one [when it comes to toughest mental opponent]. You know why? Because everyone is tough. Everyone raises different challenges and it’s tough to say like it’s okay like she is the toughest one for me because then you underestimate the rest of the group which is not right. So all of them bring different challenges.”

Sabalenka was then asked what her feelings were after lifting the US Open for the second time and lifting her fourth Grand Slam title. In response, Sabalenka stated that she was ‘relieved’. Sabalenka highlighted that losing two Grand Slam finals earlier this year made this victory even sweeter.

“Every time you win a Grand Slam, its an incredible feeling,” said Sabalenka. “It feels like it’s the biggest thing that has happened to you. I feel like it all depends on the situation in life and stuff because this season I struggled a lot. So I feel like this time, it feels like it happened for the first time, like it’s my first Grand Slam. It’s a big moment and I felt relieve after. I mean I played two Grand Slam finals early in the season in Australia and then in Paris and I lost both of those finals. In those finals, I was considered favourite so I kind of feel like you know it’s coming my way. I was so excited but then I would lose in the final and I was sort of like really sad and like it was really tough to go through those lessons, tough losses. Getting this trophy means a lot that I learned the lessons. I became a better player. I have better control over my emotions and I am super happy to win this one.”

Sabalenka was then asked about how was the feeling of losing a Grand Slam final and whether she has ever watched herself losing a majors final. In response to that, Sabalenka stated that losing a final so close to lifting the ultimate ‘hurts more’ and her immediate desire is to leave the arena as soon as possible. Sabalenka also stated that she has never watched herself losing in the final of a Grand Slam, and she let her team watch it and explain what she did wrong and where she can improve in the future.

“Losing in the final, it hurts more because you are so close to completing the dream and then it feels it slips away,” said Sabalenka. “So you are really depressed. Me personally, [after losing the final] I want to leave the place as soon as possible just so like I forget it. Then I need some time to sit back, analyse to like you know, to actually learn the lesson. It takes some time to process the losses. I have to be honest that I have never watched my finals that I have lost. I let my team do that and bring me on the plate, ok you did this, this and this wrong. I know like mentally, emotionally what I did wrong and where I made the mistakes in like the way I approached the final or what was my mindset. I know this part and the tennis part, I let my team figure it. Then they bring, they tell me and I remember because I don’t want to watch it. I don’t want to see myself there losing.”