Aryna Sabalenka’s career has gone to another level over the past three years.
Between 2017 and 2022, she had some inconsistent Grand Slam runs, but since then, she’s collected four major titles.
The Belarusian picked up two titles each at the Australian Open and US Open, and also reached world number one along the way.
Sabalenka is now eyeing a fifth major title at Melbourne Park this year after moving into the fourth round with a straight-sets win over Anastasia Potapova.
After her win against Potapova, Sabalenka was asked about how much spin she’s started to add to her forehand in recent seasons.
Aryna Sabalenka opens up about the technical change she made to her forehand
Sabalenka spoke about her decision to add more spin to her forehand after the match, explaining how it wasn’t an easy process at first.
“Before I used to only hit flat balls from both sides,” she said. “It’s a big technical change.
“But lucky me, I didn’t struggle for so long with this change because probably I was young and I was desperate for some changes. It was pretty easy change.
“But it was massive change in my game, which gave me a lot of benefits in the future.
Sabalenka added that being open-minded was just as important as the technical side of things: “You have to be open for a new thing to be able to change it.”
Aryna Sabalenka sees women’s game adopting more of the men’s style
Sabalenka also noted that there’s a clear shift happening in women’s tennis, with more players now favouring heavy topspin over flatter shots.
She said: “I think it’s changing. I think we’re taking a lot from men’s. Heavy shot with the spin, it’s much more aggressive than just a flat ball.
“It’s not that easy to… how you say… to block it. I don’t know how to say it, to accept the ball.”
Sabalenka is also getting ready for her first-ever meeting with Victoria Mboko at senior level when they face off in Melbourne.
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