How Aryna Sabalenka’s Ice Hockey-Playing Father Accidentally Introduced Her to Tennis

World number 2 Aryna Sabalenka will be competing against Qinwen Zheng in her finals at the Australian Open. The defending Aussie champion has the hopes of her fans to carry her to the finale for a 2 grand slam. However, it was not always fun and games for the champion when it came to the racket sport. Sabalenka has evolved as a tennis player since she started when she was only 12.

And to everyone’s surprise, it was her father who introduced her to the sport, and not even intentionally! But now at the age of 25 years, the Belarusian has evolved into a calmer champion from a ‘crazy’ one as she recalls in one of her interviews.

How was Aryna Sabalenka introduced to tennis by her father accidentally?

Aryna Sabalenka’s father Sergey was born in Minsk and was a former ice hockey player. The formidable Australian Open champion was introduced to the sport by her late father while they were driving from Minsk and she came across some tennis courts. Once she got to know about the sport, she started playing it. And then there was no stopping her.

Sabalenka shared, “One day, my dad was just driving me somewhere in the car, and on the way he saw tennis courts. So he took me to the courts. I really liked it and enjoyed it and that’s how it was. That’s how it started.”

Sabalenka and her father shared her passion for the sport and it was his dream that she would excel in the racket sport. And it was because of him that she continued to show her best in the court as she mentioned once.

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Sabalenka’s father motivated her to become number 1

Aryna Sabalenka was once asked about her thoughts on becoming the world number 1 in WTA rankings. To which she responded that it was her father who always told her how proud he was of her. He always celebrated the little and big wins with her, be it in tennis or otherwise.

Sabalenka added, “He told me then that I have everything I needed to achieve this goal: I just had to learn myself better, to learn how to control my emotions, and one day I’d be world number one. It was like our dream.” Given the skill and passion Sabalenka has, we are sure the day of her becoming number 1 again is not far off.

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