
USA Today via Reuters
Aug 17, 2024; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Aryna Sabalenka acknowledges the crowd after winning her match against Liudmila Samsonova on day six of the Cincinnati Open. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Aug 17, 2024; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Aryna Sabalenka acknowledges the crowd after winning her match against Liudmila Samsonova on day six of the Cincinnati Open. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Behind every successful player, there is an unwavering support of the player’s family and team. The case of Aryna Sabalenka is no different, as she sets her sights on winning three back-to-back Australian Open titles. The Belarusian star is in the finals of the Grand Slam Down Under and will take on Madison Keys in the summit clash. While Sabalenka will certainly be the crowd-favorite going into the match given her record at the tournament, she will also have the support of some key members in her team.
Sabalenka’s boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, has traveled to Melbourne to support her during her matches. The founder of the superfood brand Oakberry has been quite vocal in Sabalenka’s support and never stops cheering for his girlfriend when she steps onto the court. Apart from Frangulis, Sabalenka boasts a strong coaching team, who also support her from her player’s box.
The Belarusian star is currently coached by Anton Dubrov, who is one of the youngest coaches on the WTA Tour. Initially, he began his stint with Sabalenka as her hitting partner when Sabalenka’s ex-coach, Dmitry Tursunov was still in charge. Later, in 2020, Sabalenka split with Tursunov and announced Dubrov as her head coach. However, Dubrov isn’t the only member of Sabalenka’s coaching team.
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USA Today via Reuters
Sep 7, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus wins the quarterfinal match against Barbora Krejcikova of Czech Republic on day nine of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
Another member supporting Sabalenka from the player’s box is Jason Stacy, Sabalenka’s physical trainer. Stacy has been instrumental in ensuring the Belarusian star stays in the best of shape amid a hectic season. Stacy has been with Sabalenka since long, having joined forces with her back in 2018. Thus, Sabalenka will have the support of Dubrov and Stacy in her box apart from her boyfriend.
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Ahead of the 2025 season, Sabalenka’s coach has already highlighted the Belarusian star’s major goal this season. To achieve that, Sabalenka would have to toil hard on the clay courts.
Aryna Sabalenka wants to achieve the ‘Career Slam’
Predominantly a hard-court player, Sabalenka has won each of her three major titles on hard courts. However, she has yet to achieve success on clay courts and grass courts. As a result, her coach has outlined Sabalenka’s road to glory in order to achieve the Career Slam.
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During an interview, Dubrov said, “For me, the clay comes first, it’s cooler. Roland Garros is a kind of desire, because when we first started with Aryna four years ago, she said, like, we need to survive the clay here, and then we’ll play. We started looking for ways she could play on the surface. We started to change the idea of her as a clay player. This was confirmed, first of all, in Madrid – she won two titles there. Secondly, this year there were two finals: Rome and Madrid. Rome is more difficult, as the clay is slower, there is altitude.”
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Can Aryna Sabalenka conquer the clay courts and complete her Career Slam dream?
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However, for now, Sabalenka will have to focus on the task at hand, that is to defeat Madison Keys and win the Australian Open title. Their match will take place in the night session at the Rod Laver Arena tomorrow.
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Can Aryna Sabalenka conquer the clay courts and complete her Career Slam dream?