Who is Aryna Sabalenka’s coach? Former player Anton Dubrov has turned the Belarusian into a dominant force
Aryna Sabalenka has gone from strength to strength in recent years, but who is the key figure behind her success?
Aged 29, Anton Dubrov is one of the youngest coaches on the WTA Tour and he has seen the good, the bad and the ugly during his stint as Sabalenka’s coach.
Dubrov initially joined the Belarusian’s coaching set-up as a hitting partner with Dmitry Tursunov the man in charge.
But after Sabalenka and Tursunov parted ways in 2020, the then-22-year-old turned to Dubrov, who was just three years older than her at the time.
The Belarusian was ranked at No 10 in the world and, although her power and potential were there for all to see, she had yet to click at Grand Slams as hadn’t reached a quarter-final yet.
Nearly four years later and they have won three Grand Slams together with Sabalenka also peaking at No 1 in the WTA Rankings with many believing she could dominate the sport alongside Iga Swiatek in the next few years.
Anton Dubrov’s professional career
The Belarusian’s professional career failed to take off as he turned pro in 2013 before retiring just five years later. During that time he earned only one ATP ranking point and that came from a solitary victory on the ITF Men’s Circuit.
He earned $2,016 in career prize money and peaked at No 1935 in the rankings in November 2014, but 10 years later he has earned his stripes as one of the most successful WTA coaches in recent years.
Dubrov the coach
Sabalenka was tipped as a potential Grand Slam winner early in her career, but under Tursunov she failed to reach her full potential at the majors with her best showing a run to the fourth round of the US Open in 2018.
During Dubrov’s first full season in charge in 2021, Sabalenka reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, the fourth round of the US Open and the third round of the French Open and by the end of the year she reached No 2 in the WTA Rankings.
The step up had been taken, but they then appeared to take a couple of steps backwards during the 2022 season when Sabalenka struggled with her serve as she served more than 400 double-faults during the campaign.
Aryna Sabalenka News
Aryna Sabalenka’s coach answers if she is ‘best’ player in the world
Dubrov offered to resign as early as February, but Sabalenka felt he was still the man to lead her to glory and she agreed to see a biomechanics expert to help her get over her serving yips.
It worked wonders as Sabalenka reached the semi-final of the US Open in 2022 and finished runner-up at the WTA Finals before finally fulfilling her potential in 2023 as she won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
The positive results have continued to flow with the title defence at Melbourne Park at the start of the 2024 season and the US Open in September.
And key to her success has been her mental strength, something that she struggled with in the past.
Dubrov paid tribute to her after her US Open title run, saying: “Her ability to reboot, to better return to the match and regain focus when she wants to throw out this aggression, when she wants to freak out and scream… She has learned to better direct this into the fight, into motivation. This is the biggest improvement.
“At some point, focus and attention fall, but you catch yourself and the ability to quickly get back on track [leads to] dominance.
“For some, it is five games, for others, five rallies, for others, five minutes, five seconds… The one who failed but immediately returned will win.
“For her, it will be one rally. If you are ready to accept the fact that there will be a decline, it will be uncomfortable, and you catch yourself on this and continue to do the right things, then at least you will not fade away – but will fight.”
