"They’re going to be replaced pretty soon": Aryna Sabalenka's coach fires warning to top players in women's tennis

Belarus’ tennis star Aryna Sabalenka’s coach Anton Dubrov believes that no player in women’s tennis can afford not to improve as there is a lot of competition at the top. The 26-year-old is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis along with Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

Aryna Sabalenka has recently gone through a brilliant phase where she lifted the US Open for the first time in her career after beating America’s Jessica Pegula in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-5. Before that, the current world number two lifted the Cincinnati Masters after beating Pegula again in the final with a score of 6-3, 7-5.

Sabalenka’s coach Dubrov has recently spoken to The National where he spoke about how much work has been done by the Minsk-born star behind the scene to win two Grand Slams in 2024. The 29-year-old also spoke about how tough the competition is at the top and believes that no player, including Sabalenka, can afford not to improve as they will be replaced, sooner rather than later.

“It [winning US Open] actually means a lot, to be honest,” he said. “Because we’ve gone through some pretty tough things before, especially in July when she got injured before Wimbledon. Aryna did great. She stuck to the plan, she trusted the process, she trusted the things we talked through every day and she was actually brave enough to do them when she was under huge pressure. I would love to say 'yes, it’s more stable', but there are also a lot of girls I can see on tour that are really, really close to getting there. So yes, for now yes, you can see more stability at the top. But at the same time, it’s more about, if some of the top players – even for us it’s the same – they stop improving at some point, they’re going to be replaced pretty soon.”