Aryna Sabalenka has spoken of the “best lesson” she has learned from Novak Djokovic as the two of them continue to spend plenty of time together.
The friendship between the pair appears to be one of the best on the tour with them regularly practicing together but also seen going for double dates with their respective partners.
When asked about her friendship with the 24-time Slam champion, Sabalenka said being able to have a wider perspective was the “best lesson” she had learned from Djokovic.
“How to stay settled and how to look at everything as you’re looking from the outside on the situation on the court, off the court,” she said. “Just to, like, be able to sit back and look at everything.
“Kind of like it’s not you looking, it’s someone else looking at your situation.
“I think that’s the best lesson that you could take from Novak.”
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That ability to take a step back and analyse things with a clear head would have come in handy in what has sometimes been a challenging season for the world No.1.
Before the US Open, Sabalenka had failed to add to her Grand Slam tally and admitted it was “tough” to fall so close to the prize each time.
“I mean, it was tough. It was really tough. It was tough lessons. But at the end I think it was much-needed lessons. I had to learn how to control myself even better,” the 27-year-old said.
“Even though I improved a lot in that part of the game, still, you know, not good enough. I think in those big finals, that’s one thing that was missing, was my emotions.
“I think especially after Roland Garros and the media and everything that happened after the match, I just had to sit back and look at everything from the side, yeah, and take better control over my emotions.
“After winning US Open, I was actually quite grateful for those lessons.”
Her final challenge of the year is to try and win the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. Her only final appearance came in 2022 while she has reached the semi-finals in the previous two years.
Sabalenka said she prepared for the season finale as if it were another Grand Slam.
“There is no difference in my preparation. It’s also one of the biggest tournaments. I have a little time between the last tournament I played and Riyadh. I had few days off, then I was back on court practicing. Yeah, it’s the biggest tournament of the year. My preparation is the same way here as to the Grand Slams.
“It’s been pretty intense. I really hope I can play well here.”
Sabalenka will begin her tournament against No.8 seed Jasmine Paolini on Sunday.
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