In a match that was all about power and strength, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus triumphed to win the 2023 Australian Open and take home her first-ever Grand Slam trophy. She rallied to beat Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an epic 2-hour, 28-minute battle.
It's taken Sabalenka, 24, a few tries to get here. Over the past two years she's made three semifinals, but each time couldn't close the deal. A year ago at this tournament she was the No. 2 seed, but crashed out in the fourth round when she struggled to consistently execute her massive serve, which is one of her greatest assets. But that didn't happen Saturday. It was her first Grand Slam final, and she did not shrink from the moment.
But that's Sabalenka's style. Standing 6 feet tall, she's loud and unapologetic about her tennis. She grunts loudly when she hits the ball, shouts at herself after points , and doesn't try to hide any of her other feelings. It's an emotional way to play tennis, and she's been learning how to rein that in and take control of that. Via the BBC:
"I realized that nobody other than me will help. In pre-season, I spoke to my psychologist, saying: 'Listen, I feel like I have to deal with that by myself, because every time hoping that someone will fix my problem, it's not fixing my problem'," Sabalenka said.Ever since then, Sabalenka has been getting results.
That streak is up to 11 now. Because this time, Sabalenka didn't crumble in the crucial moments, when it counted the most. She was finally able to put all the different parts of her game together and find the success that had been just out of reach for so long.
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