Aryna Sabalenka names the player who she thinks has the best backhand on the whole of the WTA Tour

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Aryna Sabalenka returned to winning ways at Indian Wells after beating McCartney Kessler in her opening match.

Sabalenka had struggled for form since losing in the Australian Open final, winning only one of her three matches during the Middle Eastern swing.

The world number one is now trying to move past that disappointment, with Sabalenka enjoying the Indian Wells conditions so far.

Sabalenka featured in the night session in her opening match at Indian Wells, with the Belarusian adapting to the newly surfaced courts that others have struggled with.

As a former Indian Wells finalist, Sabalenka is looking to take that one step further this year and cement her status at the top of the rankings.

Aryna Sabalenka says Coco Gauff has the best backhand on the WTA Tour

After beating Kessler to reach the third round at Indian Wells, Sabalenka headed into her post-match press conference and was asked about building her ultimate WTA player.

Despite Sabalenka joking that she would pick herself for all the categories, the three-time Grand Slam champion named five other players that impressed her.

This even included Sabalenka picking Madison Keys for her forehand, despite being beaten by the American in the Australian Open final.

“I just so much in love with myself on the good days,” said Sabalenka. “I cannot think about any players (laughter). Can you believe me?

“Wait. Serve, Elena [Rybakina] when she’s in her good days. Forehand… Andrei, can you help me right now? Oh, yeah, Madison.”

Sabalenka then selected Gauff for the backhand, having suffered her other Grand Slam final defeat to the American at the 2023 US Open.

“Guys, you’re just killing me right now,” added Sabalenka. “Coco is good. Thank you, guys, for helping me. Anyone help? Just skip this question. I’m so bad.”

Sabalenka then selected rival Iga Swiatek for her return, while also picking former world number one Ash Barty for two other attributes.

“Return? Oh, my god. Iga. Iga is good,” said Sabalenka. “Serve I said Elena Rybakina. Volley, Barty. Slice, Barty.

Aryna Sabalenka explains why she has her motivation back

After losing to Clara Tauson at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Sabalenka admitted that she had lost a bit of her hunger.

However, after beating Kessler she revealed that her motivation had returned for the sunshine double.

“Yeah, I’d say that the final in Australia was really heartbroken,” explained Sabalenka. “It was very difficult to recover after that one, and Middle East I was kind of like, in my thoughts, I was trying to understand.

“I was always thinking about that match. It was, like, probably my mistake, but I think I had to go through, I had to realize couple of things. I had to kind of like step back and start everything over again.

“Right now, I’m definitely feeling better and that final was in the past. Just good experience, great lesson, and hopefully it will never happen again (smiling).”

Sabalenka will now play Italian Lucia Bronzetti, who she has won both of her previous meetings against, in the third round of Indian Wells.