‘Revenge’ on Aryna Sabalenka’s Mind as Australian Open Semifinal Against Coco Gauff Sets Her Up for the Perfect Payback

With her sheer brilliance at the Rod Laver Arena, Aryna Sabalenka recently breezed past ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The stage is now set for another blockbuster semifinal encounter between the Belarusian tennis star and her American colleague, Coco Gauff. Ahead of the high-profile match, Sabalenka recently hinted at exacting ‘revenge’ on the 19-year-old player who denied her another Grand Slam title.

Back in 2023, it was Gauff who overcame the Belarusian in the US Open championship match after rallying back from a set down to clinch a victory with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. But now that they will face off once again this new season, Sabalenka is looking to change things this time around at Melbourne Park.

Aryna Sabalenka on her rematch of the US Open final

After her quarterfinal victory against Barbora Krejcikova, the Belarusian player was asked if she was ‘happy’ to get another shot at Coco Gauff after their meeting in the Grand Slam event in New York. In her post-match conference, Aryna Sabalenka opened up about how she “really wanted revenge” following her defeat at the US Open.

The current world No. 2 player said, “I love it. I love it. After US Open, I really wanted that revenge, and, I mean, that’s a great match. It’s always great battles against Coco, with really great fights. I’m happy to play her, and I’m super excited to play that semifinal match.”

Sabalenka looks geared up and ‘super excited’ to change things this time around against Gauff at Melbourne Park. But do you know what went wrong for the Belarusian as she failed to overcome her 19-year-old opponent in their previous meeting?

Sabalenka on why she couldn’t beat Gauff at the US Open

In an on-court interview at the Brisbane International, the current world No. 2 player previously opened up about how the boisterous crowd played a crucial role in Gauff’s victory in the championship match. As she was playing on her home turf, the American tennis prodigy received the support of a flurry of home fans who cheered for her.

Sabalenka, on the other hand, suggested that she found it quite challenging to play in front of a boisterous audience cheering for her 19-year-old opponent. She stated,

If she had the support of the crowd, the Belarusian player asserted that she probably could have won the title match against Gauff.

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