Aryna Sabalenka’s coach shares the biggest improvement she has made that not many people know about

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Aryna Sabalenka has made vast improvements that few people know about, according to her coach Anton Dubrov.

The Belarusian is arguably the WTA Tour’s most improved player since the start of last season after becoming a consistent top two player and a multi-time Grand Slam champion.

The 26-year-old is continuing her fine run on the North American hard courts at the China Open, a tournament she is trying to win for the first time.

Should she claim the title, it would move Sabalenka closer to regaining the World number one ranking with Iga Swiatek missing the China Open due to personal reasons.

What improvements has Aryna Sabalenka made?

Aryna Sabalenka has always been a player that has possessed great power, but she has been able to harness it in recent seasons.

However, the biggest changes the World number two has made has been in the mental department and her ability to play her best tennis at the most crucial times.

In an interview with Championat, Sabalenka’s coach Anton Dubrov believes that Sabalenka is the world’s best player and outlined how she has improved her game. “I would say yes. There is a lot of internal factors that maybe five people know about,” he said.

“Her ability to reboot, it’s better to return to the match and regain focus, when you want to vent this aggression, you want to freak out and scream… She learned to better direct it into the struggle, into motivation. This is the biggest increase.”

How many titles has Aryna Sabalenka won in 2024?

Sabalenka has claimed three titles on the WTA Tour in 2024.

The first came back in January when she successfully defended the Australian Open title after beating Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng in the final.

Her next title did not come until Cincinnati Open, which she claimed without dropping a set and defeated the likes of Swiatek and Jessica Pegula. For the second successive tournament, Pegula lost to Sabalenka, this time in the US Open final.

Sabalenka won a tight 7-5, 7-5 battle to deny Pegula her first Grand Slam title and in the process win for the first time in New York.