After securing both the Indian Wells and Miami Open titles, Aryna Sabalenka has become the talk of the 2026 season, with her recent run raising eyebrows across the tennis world.
The world number one has dropped only a single match this year, falling to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final. Even so, she’s already picked up three titles in what’s shaping up to be a remarkable season.
Sabalenka now shifts her focus to clay courts, aiming to add a fourth career title on the surface. Despite her dominance on hard courts and grass, clay has traditionally been her least successful terrain.
Andrea Petkovic is among those taking notice. The former top-10 player thinks Sabalenka’s early-season form should put the rest of the WTA Tour on alert.
Sabalenka’s mental strength gives her an extra edge over the WTA competition
Sabalenka has put together a 23-1 record in 2026, and Petkovic pointed to the Melbourne defeat as a moment of real change for the world number one.
“I looked at a few highlights of the Australian Open final one more time, because I remembered it in a way that Aryna self-destructed emotionally.
“She was up 3-0 in the third set and she still lost against Rybakina and lost that Australian Open title. That has happened to her before and especially against Coco Gauff, last year at Roland Garros and the first US Open final where Coco won her first major title.
“She said she had a lot of conversations after the Australian Open with her team, trying to figure why she was so emotionally strong in 99% of her matches and then it comes to the big final and she got overwhelmed by her emotions, got really down on herself, when she kept it together for basically every other match.”
After losing in Australia, Sabalenka went on to win Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back, which Petkovic credits to how much her mindset has changed.
“But she has figured it out and that is scary for everybody else because she has now won the Sunshine Double.
“Yes, that’s amazing in itself but she has won two huge titles back to back, with being tired in Miami, with the different conditions, with trying to stay in this competitor’s mindset for four weeks.”
The world number one is expected to make her next appearance at Women’s Stuttgart Open, an event Sabalenka hasn’t yet added to her list of career wins.
Sabalenka’s mindset after a fast start to the 2026 season
Sabalenka’s strong mindset has been a defining feature of her rise to the top, helping her maintain an extended run as world number one.
She has held the number one ranking for 76 weeks and continues to set the pace on the WTA Tour, with little indication that she’s ready to slow down.
Following her Sunshine Double success, Sabalenka spoke about what drives her, saying: “I hate to lose. I hate that feeling when you lose a match.
“I can’t sleep, I dream about tennis, I hate myself for making some mistakes that may have cost me the match, I hate that feeling.
“Just for that, every time I step onto the court, I try to give my best and do everything possible and impossible to win.”
With more than 3,000 points separating her from second-placed Rybakina in the rankings, Sabalenka’s lead shows no sign of narrowing any time soon.
Read more:
O que achou dessa notícia? Deixe um comentário abaixo e/ou compartilhe em suas redes sociais. Assim conseguiremos informar mais pessoas sobre o que acontece no mundo do tênis!
Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em:
Fonte original