Aryna Sabalenka ‘hates herself and cannot sleep’ as Miami Open champ gets brutally honest | Tennis | Sport

Aryna Sabalenka is in the form of her life at the moment. The world No. 1 continues to pull away from the rest of the field in the rankings, and she’s just become the fifth woman to complete the Sunshine Double – winning Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back. At both tournaments, Sabalenka reached the final without dropping a set. But she was made to work in the championship matches against Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff.

The Belarusian has suffered plenty of brutal defeats in big finals, and Rybakina and Gauff have both beaten her to win Grand Slam titles in the last year. But Sabalenka refused to put herself in that position again, and dug deep to win back-to-back WTA 1000 titles this month, coming through both finals in three sets.

And the 27-year-old later opened up about just how difficult some of those previous defeats had been. “I hate losing. I hate that feeling when you lose the match,” the world No. 1 said.

“I cannot sleep, I dream tennis, I hate myself for making several mistakes that might cost me a match, so I hate that feeling. Just because of that, whenever I go out there, I just really try my best and I try to do everything that is possible to get the win.”

Since the beginning of 2025, Sabalenka has lost three Grand Slam finals – two at the Australian Open to Madison Keys and Rybakina, respectively, and at the French Open to Gauff. She was also beaten in the finals of Indian Wells and the WTA Finals last year. And she’s had enough.

After beating home favourite Gauff 6-2 4-6 6-3 in Saturday’s championship match, Sabalenka explained: “My mentality really going into this final, like, there is no way I lose it. I’m trying to bring this tough mentality that I’ll be there fighting for every point.

“There is no way I’ll let anything get to me, and I’ll be staying focused, I’ll be fighting for every point, I’ll be trying to find solutions if needed or I’ll keep constantly remind myself how strong I am, and that I’ve got it.

“That’s been working really well, and it’s so easy, but so tough at some point, when you get emotional and then you forget everything. And in the last couple of finals, I have just been really strong inside and really positive mentally.

“Also, we did really great preparation. I worked so hard, so whenever I felt like doubting my ability, I was, like, bringing myself back and reminding myself, ‘No, no, no. You’re strong enough to get this’.”

It’s been a whirlwind month for Sabalenka on and off the court. As well as completing the Sunshine Double, she got a new puppy, Ash, and got engaged ahead of Indian Wells. With the clay season now on the horizon, the world No. 1 added: “Right now I feel like I’m just living my dream life.”

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