Born 24 years ago in Minsk, Sabalenka started playing tennis at the age of 6 and by chance, when, driving past with her father Sergei - himself an ice hockey player - in front of the courts, they decided to give it a try.

His first memories of professional tennis matches are therefore quite vague.

"I vaguely remember a match between Kerber and Serena, it was in the final (of the Australian Open 2016), right? I had ordered a chocolate in a cafe and there was a television. I I looked with one eye and said to myself +yes, not badly done... can I have my chocolate, please?+ But in fact, I wasn't really watching tennis. I don't know why. I'm ashamed now," she says.

The same year, for her part, she made her debut on the WTA circuit in Rabat and lost in qualifying for the US Open.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka during her Australian Open final against Kazakh Elena Rybakina in Melbourne on January 28, 2023 © MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP

In 2017, she entered the Top100, finishing the season in 78th place, notably with a lost final in Tianjin against Maria Sharapova.

In the same year, however, she rose to prominence by leading Belarus to the Fed Cup final.

First titles

Her first titles will not arrive until the following season (New Haven and Wuhan), but she then begins to believe in her ability to one day win a Grand Slam tournament.

"I started to have a little more confidence in myself. I started to understand that with work, over the years, I might be able to do it," she says.

This job she did and set up a very aggressive game.

She became a powerful player, with heavy strikes and devastating service, but committing a lot of mistakes.

Which sometimes led her into abysses of doubt.

So she added psychological work to her training.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka during her Australian Open final against Kazakh Elena Rybakina in Melbourne on January 28, 2023 © WILLIAM WEST / AFP

But it was ultimately without the help of a psychologist that she won her best trophy on Sunday at the Australian Open.

"In the off-season, I decided to stop working with a psychologist. I realized that I was the only one who could help me. I told my psychologist that I thought I had to manage everything that on its own because counting on someone each time to solve my problems, in the end it didn't solve anything", she explains.

No more screaming

Since then, talking with her family, her team, she has become her "own psychologist", she smiles.

"I know myself well and I know how to manage my emotions," she savors.

As proof, she remained unmoved in the tense moments of the Australian Major and was able to count throughout the tournament on her big serve, the failure of which has caused her enormous disappointment in the past.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka during her Australian Open final against Kazakh Elena Rybakina in Melbourne on January 28, 2023 © Martin KEEP / AFP

"I tried to shout less when I played bad points or made mistakes. I was just trying to contain myself, stay calm and think about the next point," she explains.

A brand new attitude since she recognizes that a few weeks ago, she would have unpinned after a start to the match like the one against Magda Linette in the semi-finals where she had conceded a blank break at the start of the match with three unforced errors at four points.

"I would have started screaming at everyone, feeling bad, hitting my balls too much. This time, I said to myself + OK, it happens, no problem +. And I found my rhythm", exposes she.

Because here is Aryna Sabalenka's new credo in 2023: "it is normal to feel nervous".

© 2023 AFP