“I want to be an even tougher person and opponent,” – this was Aryna Sabalenka’s statement after winning the 2023 AO. Guess what, almost twelve months have passed after that, and we’re already seeing a tougher and better version of Aryna Sabalenka. She’s now the world number one in women’s tennis, what a year this has been for her! Sabalenka had quite a few highs and lows moments this year, but still, she managed to get on top of everything. Andy Roddick who has always been a big admirer of ‘Tigress’, recently said to her “I completely admire your ability to be who you are.“ He even defended her fierce on-court nature with an apt John McEnroe example.

What comes to your mind when you hear McEnroe’s name? Fiery temper, loud outburst, arguing with umpire, and whatnot, right? Perhaps that’s the reason why he was also known as the “bad boy” of tennis. On the women’s side, we heard Aryna Sabalenka say, “In the beginning, nobody really knew me. I think what they saw was an aggressive girl on-court. Most of the time, I was getting crazy on-court and they thought probably I’m completely nuts.” Although nowadays, she has managed to earn a place in the hearts of all the fans by bringing up her fun-loving nature, still there are moments when we get a flashback of Aryna Sabalenka’s fierce on-court nature.

She loves engaging with her fans with all smiles and calmness, but at the same time doesn’t want to change herself too much. Sabalenka doesn’t believe calmness is necessarily a sign of having great mental strength. This is something she feels which differs from player to player, but she isn’t someone who can keep everything bottled up within herself. She feels it’s okay for her to express whatever she goes through on the court. Tennis legend, Andy Roddick likes this! During a recent episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ while speaking to Aryna Sabalenka, he said, “At some point we’ve to look at it and say this is her process and this is what works best for her. Not all personalities are the same. McEnroe’s nutjob but I don’t think he could’ve acted any differently.“

Further speaking on the example of McEnroe he added, “Like I don’t think that’s the best version of the way he could’ve acted. Anyways I think you’re (Sabalenka) doing wonders for not finding mental toughness in certain ways.” However, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Roddick heaping praise on Sabalenka.

In January this year when Aryna Sabalenka won the 2024 AO title, he said, Sabalenka “has every right to think she’s the best in the world right now.” Then a month later, he hailed the Belarusian star as the “most bankable player on Earth.” Surely her mental toughness has played a crucial role in bringing success to her career, but what does Sabalenka have to say about all these things?

“I think my father made me a really tough person” – Aryna Sabalenka

“Regardless of what happened to me, I always came back stronger, learned, and never gave up on this dream,” – Aryna Sabalenka said after winning the 2024 US Open title. She’s very much glad to have tennis in her life. According to Sabalenka, tennis has taught her how to go through all these difficulties and become stronger day by day. She lost her father in November 2019, and that was quite a big loss in her life. Her father had played a crucial role in shaping her tennis career. Even that time, it was tennis who had ultimately shown her the way to overcome this tough loss.

However, it wasn’t just the sport that made her stronger day by day! She believes the seed was already planted in her by her father. “I think my father made me a really tough person without actually knowing that. The way he was trying to motivate me, the way he was trying to raise me, the things he was telling me, the things he was fighting through, he was a really tough person. He was a great example in some ways for me.“

Apart from having incredible mental toughness, Aryna Sabalenka now has also managed to bring up her fun-loving side to her fans. What does Roddick have to say on this? In September, during a conversation, we heard Andy Roddick say, “It’s like she’s (Sabalenka) down for a joke but also committed to improvement, it seems like she has a great balance. I wish I had a little more Sabalenka.” Do you think this perfect blend of fierce attitude with a bit of fun, doing wonders for Sabalenka at the moment?