World No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka has faced immense hardships and challenges in the last 2-3 years. Overcoming personal and professional hardships, all of them in front of the whole world, her name is slowly becoming a synonym for ‘fortitude’. However, she wasn’t alone all through this tumultuous journey.

Other than her family and friends, she also had her crew, who closely worked with her to pull her out of these situations. A part of her closely-knit team, Jason Stacy, Sabalenka’s fitness coach, has been a monumental force behind her most impressive triumphs. Talking on a podcast, he reveals how she slumped after a series of terrible on-court fiascos.

Jason Stacy calls Aryna Sabalenka ‘a fighter’

Featuring on the Lead On Purpose With James Laughlin podcast, Stacy talks about possibly the worst time in Sabalenka’s professional career where in 2022 she faced a horrible season committing double faults, losing matches, and succumbing to the pressures of playing at the top level. All these factors were accumulating to physically and mentally break Sabalenka down, almost taking her to a point of no return.

“we knew the other problem was that she was so terrified of addressing it and talking about it and working on it because she might lose it even though it’s gone right. The fear was that there’s still too much power so she did everything. Faced every humiliation, everything, week after week showing up in front of the world, embarrassing herself,” he says, highlighting her resilience and fortitude.

Facing health issues himself, at that point Stacy couldn’t bear to see a talent such as Sabalenka’s go to waste. He decided to take matters into his own hands and broke down the problem for her. Calling her “a fighter,” he says there was a point where she, after much deliberation, finally decided to work on her serve from scratch.

Sabalenka and her crew’s relationship is a special one. They all work together to alleviate the pressure of pro tennis through goofy rituals and often celebrating each other. One such hilarious ritual involves Stacy’s head and Sabalenka’s pen!

Aryna Sabalenka’s camp keeps it light-hearted

Whether it is eating the same pre-match meal for years or not stepping on the lines for their whole career, it’s well known that tennis pros are creatures of habit. Sabalenka, however, seems to have taken it to a different level.

Signing Stacy’s head before every match, Sabalenka and co have developed a hilarious pre-match ritual which the fitness coach seems to be enjoying saying “It might get worse,“ joking alongside coach Anton Dubrov.

Stacy says “It’s crucial” to keep the atmosphere in the camp lighthearted. “It’s an important key element to any performance, to development,” he adds. Pointing to the pressurizing nature of the sport and how players stay fresh and confident on the court when they enjoy the game.

It’s evident that Sabalenka falls hard on her team and they never disappoint her by catching her and bringing her up. Perhaps many teams, especially the ones around younger athletes, can take a page out of Stacy and Dubrov’s book.

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