Aryna Sabalenka makes blunt confession about being ‘very unpleasant’ on court
Aryna Sabalenka has described herself as a “very unpleasant person” on the tennis court as she asserted her belief that players “have to be mean.”
The world No 1’s fierce on-court attitude and intensity has earned her the reputation of being one of the toughest competitors in tennis.
However, Sabalenka is also well known for her sense of humour and likeable personality away from the match court.
The Belarusian star extended her huge lead at the top of the WTA Rankings to 4,345 points with her triumph at the Madrid Open.
Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final of the WTA 1000 event in Madrid to claim her third title of 2025 after wins in Brisbane and Miami.
The 27-year-old has also been a runner-up at the Australian Open, the Indian Wells Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart this year.
Speaking to Bolshe!, Sabalenka spoke with brutal honesty about her on-court personality.
“I can say that I am a very unpleasant person on the court, I am downright nasty. Well, not nasty, no, very tenacious, with a character,” Sabalenka said (translated from Russian).
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“Probably b**chy. In short, a b**ch, yes. That’s how they called me here. Probably, I have sporting greed and tenacity.
“I think you have to be mean. Of course, you can be a good person, a good girl off the court, but on the court you have to be mean, hungry, greedy and very unpleasant.”
Sabalenka will aim to extend her six-match winnings streak at the Italian Open, where she is seeking a maiden title. She was a runner-up to Iga Swiatek in Rome last year.
Ahead of her Italian Open campaign, Sabalenka was asked about her 3-3 record in finals this season.
“Well, honestly, that’s a good problem to have,” Sabalenka said in her pre-tournament press conference.
“At the same time some of the finals I lost were really heartbreaking and were really tough to kind of like accept.
“At the same time, I understand that sometimes you just have to learn and sometimes you’re not that good on court, you just have to accept, learn from that loss, and come back stronger.
“What I’m actually proud of [is] that I was able to come back in those finals and I was able to change things and see if the lesson was learned, try to bring better tennis in the next final.”
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