Top seed turns to rivals to fine-tune her preparations
It is one thing to awaken the beast within, a heart-on-sleeve approach to letting the emotions show, but Aryna Sabalenka knows it can come at a cost.
Ever the open book on and off the court, the world No.1 has harnessed it to her advantage to successfully navigate her way to four Grand Slam crowns.
Be it amping herself up or shaking off frustration, Sabalenka has had to learn over time when best to let those on-court feelings bubble to the surface.
“I think my emotions were destroying my game, and my level was dropping dramatically when I would just start overreacting on everything,” Sabalenka said. “And also, at the same time, my opponents would see that, and they would step in and play better …
“First of all, making sure that my opponent doesn't see what's going on in my head, and at the same time, to perform better and to stay in the zone, it was a huge improvement over the years in my career and really helped me to level up.”
Grand Slam finals were a particularly delicate balancing act where harrowing defeats, including in last year’s Roland-Garros and Australian Open deciders, came with valuable lessons.
They put Sabalenka in good stead for a successful defence of her title at Flushing Meadows to round out the majors last season, which helped atone for those earlier-season disappointments.
Despite another Australian Open final defeat in January, the 28-year-old rebounded immediately and carved out a 26-1 start to 2026 before the switch to clay.
While unable to crack the quarterfinal barrier at either of her two WTA 1000 events on clay leading in and having arrived in Paris with a 4-2 record on the surface, there was little concern for her diminished match play.
More pressing was how she had responded to hip and lower back complaints that she flagged in Rome.
“I struggled at the beginning of the clay-court [season] physically, to be honest, but right now I feel 100 per cent,” Sabalenka said. “We did a great recovery. We focused on recovery and made sure that I'm healed everywhere and I'm ready to go. Right now, as I said, physically I'm ready to go.”
A quarterfinal exit to Hailey Baptiste in Madrid, where she was the defending champion, and a third-round boilover against Romanian Sorana Cirstea in Rome are no great cause for alarm.
Big-picture expectations have not budged ahead of a third meeting with Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round here in Paris.
“I think all of us are here just for one reason,” she said. “Doesn't matter if I didn't play a lot of matches on the clay court. I know that I know how to play on clay, and it's all about being physically and mentally healthy, to go for it, and to be ready to fight.
“All I can say is that I'm ready to fight, and of course I hope to do a little bit better than I did last year.”
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
