Aryna Sabalenka believes something needs to change after winning her latest match.
Sabalenka is one of the Australian Open favorites, as the world number one and two-time former champion.
The Belarusian has also made an impressive start to her 2026 season, with Sabalenka emphatically winning her first match of the year at the Brisbane International.
Sabalenka has since backed this up with a straight sets win over Sorana Cirstea, but she is not entirely happy about everything.
Aryna Sabalenka calls out the ‘insane’ tennis schedule
One of the big issues in recent years has been the tennis calendar, with top players including Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek calling out the schedule.
Following Sabalenka’s 6-3 6-3 victory over Cirstea, she was asked in her post-match press conference about whether she would consider skipping tournaments like Serena Williams did in her career.
Continuing the criticism of the current tennis calendar, Sabalenka suggested that she is considering skipping more tournaments this year, but pointed out that there are now more punishments for this than when Williams was an active WTA player.
“Well, the season is definitely insane, and that’s not good for all of us, as you see so many players getting injured and also the balls are quite heavy, so it’s a lot, yeah, a lot of struggle for all of us,” said Sabalenka.
“But what Serena did, the rules were different. Right now, like last season, by the end of the season, because I didn’t play enough of 500 events, they fine us with points, me and Iga. So then it’s, like, okay if you play seven events, even if you win — okay, if you win all of them, then maybe it’s not a big deal. But you cannot predict that I’m going to play seven events, I’m going to win them all, and that’s it.
“The rules are quite tricky with mandatory events, but I’m still doing that, like, I’m skipping a couple events in order to protect my body, because I struggled a lot last season. Even though the results were really consistent, but some of the tournaments I had been playing completely sick or I’ve been really exhausted from overplaying.
“So this season we will try to manage it a little bit better, even though they are going to fine me by the end of the season. But it’s tricky to do that. You cannot skip, like, a 1000 event. It’s really tricky, and I think that’s insane what they do. I think they just follow their interests, but they’re not focusing on protecting all of us.”
Sabalenka is not the only player considering doing this, with the aforementioned Swiatek also implying that she will skip tournaments.
If you could change one rule in tennis what would it be and why?
Aryna Sabalenka explains why she likes playing the Brisbane International
It is the third consecutive year where Sabalenka has decided to play the Brisbane International ahead of the Australian Open.
Last year, Sabalenka won the Brisbane International title, while in 2024 she lost in the final to Elena Rybakina.
When asked why she chooses to use this tournament as preparation for the Australian Open, Sabalenka explained that the quality of the draw is a ‘huge help’ to be ready for the first Grand Slam of the year.
“Well, I think by bringing and having, like, seven or whatever how many top players you have in the draw, it definitely helps to prepare better for the Aussie, for Australian Open, or Aussie, I don’t know — both works, I believe, right — it definitely helps,” answered Sabalenka.
“I think it’s important to have quality matches before heading to the big event, just so you’re preparing yourself mentally for fights, for battles. And playing against top players is definitely a huge help heading into the Grand Slam tournament.
“So I’m really happy to see most of the top players here in Brisbane. It’s a tough draw, right, but I’m not looking for easy matches. I like to challenge myself. I like to have great battles, especially heading to the Grand Slam.”
How many Grand Slam titles do you think Aryna Sabalenka will win in 2026?
The WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane features seven top 10 players, as well as another four who are ranked inside the top 20.
After beating Cirstea, Sabalenka now moves on to the quarterfinals where she will play Madison Keys in a rematch of the Australian Open final.
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