Aryna Sabalenka is determined not to become complacent, putting in significant effort during the offseason to build upon her impressive 2023 performance. Her focus is on enhancing her skills as she prepares to defend her Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open.
The 25-year-old Belarusian encountered a setback over the weekend when Elena Rybakina, her opponent in last year's Melbourne Park final, ended her 15-match winning streak in Australia with a crushing 6-0, 6-3 victory in the Brisbane International final.
Despite much scowling and head-shaking during the all-too-brief contest, Sabalenka quickly laughed off her bad day at the office and shifted her focus to her next assignment at the year's first Grand Slam.
This reaction marks a significant improvement from the Sabalenka of only a couple of years ago – a player armed with all the weapons to compete for the game's major prizes but who crumbled into a tearful mess at the first sign of a setback.
"After the (2022) season, I decided to change my approach to tennis, just let it go, don't get crazy on court, try to control myself better, don't lose myself after tough points or whatever," she explained in Brisbane.
"Since then, I realized that it's bringing me so much control over myself and control in the game that it's not necessary to throw rackets. You miss the point, that's okay, just move on and try to think about what you can do better in the next one.
"This kind of approach really helped me last season. Hopefully, I can improve that kind of thinking this season."
Last year, Sabalenka also reached the U.S. Open final and the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon, becoming the first woman to reach at least the last four at all the majors in one season since Serena Williams in 2016.
This accomplishment buried her reputation as a Grand Slam underperformer and she would have ended the year as world No. 1 but for a loss to Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Mexico.
She would be the first to admit that there remains some work to be done in completely banishing her demons after losing last year's French Open semifinal despite holding a match point and her Wimbledon semi from a set and a breakup.
The answer for the woman who bears a tattoo of a tiger on her arm is work, work and more work.
"I'm working a lot on my serve. I still think there are a lot of things to improve on my serve," she added.
"I'm also trying to step in a little bit more on court, recognize the short approach shots, try to move forward instead of staying on the baseline.
"It's been a lot of work in the preseason. As we say, hard work pays off. Hopefully, it's going to pay off."