‘No f***ing chance I’m gonna lose this time’ – Aryna Sabalenka sends French Open message

Ewan West 15 Apr 2024 3:57 PM

Aryna Sabalenka screaming

Aryna Sabalenka admitted she is “still probably hurting” from her nail-biting defeat to Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals of the 2023 French Open.

The Belarusian has reflected on the loss and asserted there is “no f***ing chance I’m gonna lose this time” if she gets into the same position at Roland Garros this year.

Sabalenka was beaten 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5 by eventual runner-up Muchova in an extremely tight encounter in the last four at last year’s French Open.

The world No 2 led 5-2, 30-0 on Muchova’s serve in the third set and had match point at 40-30, but was unable to convert it. The 25-year-old was then broken when serving for the match at 5-3, before Muchova completed a remarkable comeback after she won the last five games.

The two-time Australian Open champion is set to play her first clay-court tournament since the 2023 French Open at this week’s Stuttgart Open, where she is the second seed.

Speaking ahead of her appearance at the WTA 500 event, Sabalenka spoke about the importance of her strong clay-court results last season.

“I think it was really important, important for every player to know that they’re able to play on each surface and not have this weird feeling going into the specific surface thinking like, ‘Oh my god, that’s not my place. I’m not gonna gonna do well here’,” she said in her press conference.

“So it was really important for me to have this success, to have this belief and yeah, I mean I got really close last year of making the finals of the French Open, like really close. Still probably hurting (laughs), but it’s okay.

“I always say, we’re not losing, we’re learning. I mean, I think that experience was really important for me to learn a lot of stuff and hopefully this year I can do a little bit better.”

The Belarusian then expressed her determination to avoid a repeat of the Muchova defeat at this year’s French Open when asked how she can use the experience.

“Well, I think if I make it to the same stage of the tournament and I’m gonna stay there on 5-2, 30-0, I’m gonna stay there thinking: no f***ing chance I’m gonna lose this time,” Sabalenka exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, there’s no way I can say this differently. But this is exactly how I’m gonna stay there thinking. No, not this time (laughs).”

Sabalenka will take on either Diana Shnaider or Paula Badosa in her opening match in Stuttgart, where she is a a three-time runner-up.