It hasn’t been long since Aryna Sabalenka‘s hopes of victory in Rome ended at the hands of Iga Swiatek yet again. And yet, the Belarusian didn’t actually seem to take the disappointment to heart. Amid her determined preparations for the ongoing clay-court major, a fan page affirmed blessings from none other than the ‘King of Clay’.

The X post shows the WTA star wiping her face with a towel while Rafael Nadal moves past her, giving a slight touch to her back with his finger. The fan page, blending their humor with optimism, portrayed the incident as if Rafa had blessed her for this year’s French Open title. “Blessed to win ?” the caption said, along with being accompanied by a wink emoji. Sabalenka, who is known to indulge in jokes and lighthearted banters quite frequently, came forward with a response to the post. “Ahahahah let’s see,” she wrote, along with adding a laughing and fingers crossed emoji.

2024 started out well for the Belarusian with her second career Grand Slam in Australia, but after that, she’s yet to win any WTA titles. While relief came in Madrid as she reached the finals after too many early exits, the reigning champ was handed defeat by World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The same happened in Rome at the Italian Open, so Sabalenka could probably use the help of Lady Luck!

The comment from her clearly meant that Sabalenka is expecting good things out of her French Open participation but is still not confident enough to make a prediction. Although the World No. 2 understands that she is currently one of the strongest competitors in the WTA scene, she also didn’t commit the mistake of ignoring the dominance of her rival, Iga Swiatek. Even so, the Belarusian didn’t back down from throwing a cheeky challenge to the Pole.

Aryna Sabalenka challenges Iga Swiatek for the French Open finals

Soon after facing a defeat against Iga Swiatek at the finals in Rome, Aryna Sabalenka seemed to be quite disappointed. However, the sad face was just visible until the moment she left the court as the Belarusian easily regathered her spirits before she held the mic to share her feelings after the match.

After taking time to thank her team and the speculated new boyfriend, Sabalenka immediately threw a challenge to her rival. “I hope we’re gonna make it to the final of Roland Garros, and I’m gonna get you there,” Sabalenka said, keeping her hopes high to seek another chance after facing two consecutive final defeats at the hands of the same competitor.

Without wasting a second after throwing the challenge, the tennis star burst into laughter and therefore managed to spread the same among the audience as well. “Just kidding. I guess I’ll try to do better than today,” she said, adding a lighthearted touch to the statement.

The French Open qualifiers have already begun and so have Aryna Sabalenka’s preparations to grab another title. Now that she’s set to unleash her levels to the fullest, fans can surely expect an event full of action.