Aryna Sabalenka has stormed New York. In a bid to earn redemption for her last year’s final defeat to Coco Gauff, the Belarusian steered clear of every challenge at the 2024 US Open. The second seed dropped to the floor after finessing Jessica Pegula in the summit clash, concluding her long-awaited quest of lifting a maiden Flushing Meadows title. Moreover, she also became the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to clinch both the hard court Slams in a single year. Her motivation to pull such impressive feats? Well, to give a hint, Sabalenka is all about family.

In a post-match presser, the No. 2 seed spoke about her goal to etch her “family name in history”, in realization of her late father’s tragic death. The Belarusian heaped praises on her family and expressed that this became the purpose of her life after her father, Sergey Sabalenka, aged 43, passed away in 2019 due to meningitis complications. She also credited her team for enabling her power-packed stance on the WTA Tour.

She said, “After I lost my father, it’s always been my goal to put our family name in the history of tennis. Every time I see my name on that trophy I’m so proud of myself, and I am proud of my family they never gave up on my dream and they were doing everything they could to make me keep going and so I had this opportunity in life…I still cannot believe that i was able to achieve..we (my team) were able to achieve so much…”

For those unaware, Sabalenka’s father, a former ice hockey professional and once an NHL star, was notably responsible for introducing her to tennis at the age of six. Naturally, his death invoked sharp emotions from the Belarusian star. “I’m just trying to fight because my dad wanted me to be number one. I’m doing it for him,” she said at the time.

Subsequently, she is reminded of her father at every stage in her life. Before commencing her US Open campaign, the 26-year-old voiced her wish for him to still be alive.

Aryna Sabalenka wishes her father to ‘be still alive’

It is safe to say that life hasn’t been the same for Aryna Sabalenka since her father’s untimely departure. She misses his presence and, more importantly, the Belarusian wishes for him to ‘still be alive’, so he could witness her meteoric rise to the elite level in the WTA. And that’s exactly what she iterated at the US Open.

During a pre-tournament presser, the second seed also voiced the similarities in her personality and her father’s. “I mean, I think my personality came from my father. I wish he would be still alive. We would have so much fun together right now.”

Now that her quest is done with, Sabalenka can rest. With celebrations pouring in and a recovery period on the charts, following a hectic two-week run, the Belarusian can schedule for what’s ahead.