Aryna Sabalenka Shifts Focus to Middle East Swing After Australian Open Final Defeat
DOHA: World number one Aryna Sabalenka says she has put her Australian Open final defeat to Madison Keys behind her as she shifts her focus to the ongoing Middle East swing.
Looking Back at the Australian Open Final
Sabalenka was gunning for a third consecutive title in Melbourne last month but stumbled at the last hurdle with a three-set loss to the American. "This one was the toughest one. I think, for a week, I was still thinking about that match," the Belarusian told reporters in Doha on Sunday. "Honestly, looking back and thinking about those two lost games (in the final set), I didn’t do anything wrong, she just played out of her mind, and it was her day, there’s nothing to regret. I think right now I’m fully recovered after that tough match."
Preparation for the Upcoming Tournaments
Sabalenka is back competing at the Qatar Open, which started on Sunday for the first time since 2022. The tournament in Doha is the first WTA 1000 event of the season. After Qatar, the tour’s top players move on to the WTA 1000 in Dubai. A champion in Doha in 2020, Sabalenka says she’ll be treating these back-to-back tournaments in the Gulf as a warm-up for next month’s ‘Sunshine Doubles’, which consists of 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami in the US. "The schedule is actually pretty tough, especially if you make it to the last stage of the Australian Open, then you don’t have much time to recover and prepare yourself for these big events," explained the three-time major champion. "I believe I’ll just take these two tournaments as a preparation for the Sunshine one, and I’ll try to build my tennis, and probably take my tennis to the next level in these two events."
Belinda Bencic’s Impressive Return
The Middle East swing kicked off in Abu Dhabi last week, where Belinda Bencic clinched her first title less than 10 months after the birth of her daughter Bella. "That’s impressive, honestly. She just came back, I think Australian Open she had a great run (to the fourth round), and now she’s holding the trophy. It’s amazing, I’m super happy for her, she definitely deserved that," said Sabalenka of Bencic’s triumph in the UAE capital. "As she said, she worked really hard for that, and it’s good to see. It gives us hope that probably, whenever we’re all going to go for babies, we have a chance to come back if we want to," added the top seed, with a laugh.
Scheduling and Competitors
Sabalenka has a bye in the opening round in Doha and will begin her campaign against British wildcard Emma Raducanu or Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova. Iga Swiatek has won the last three editions of the tournament, and enters this year’s edition on a 12-match winning streak on Qatari soil. The second seed will open against Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse or former top-five player Maria Sakkari in round two.
Conclusion
Sabalenka’s focus is now on the upcoming tournaments in the Middle East, where she hopes to build her game and take her tennis to the next level. With a challenging schedule ahead, she is determined to make the most of these opportunities and bounce back from her Australian Open final defeat.
FAQs
Q: What is Aryna Sabalenka’s current ranking?
A: World number one
Q: What is Sabalenka’s goal for the upcoming tournaments in the Middle East?
A: To build her game and take her tennis to the next level
Q: Who did Belinda Bencic defeat in the Abu Dhabi tournament?
A: The identity of the opponent is not mentioned in the article
Q: Who will Sabalenka face in her first match in Doha?
A: British wildcard Emma Raducanu or Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova