Aryna Sabalenka is the world No. 1. She effectively defended 500 points from her title run at the 2025 Brisbane International. She now has two trophies in a row at a WTA 500 event, that too without dropping a set. So what’s the hardest part she’s endured?

Surprisingly, it’s not the competition but the process that happens after the end. After a loss, players are often overwhelmed with emotion and just want to "disappear".

But, they’re required to stay on court for post-match ceremonies, which can be the hardest part to endure, especially for the runner-up. And Sabalenka, the World No. 1 too had been on that unfortunate end.

She had lost Grand Slam finals on three occasions: the 2023 US Open against Coco Gauff, the Australian Open final against Madison Keys, and then again to Gauff at Roland Garros.

And each time after losing, she had to deliver a speech. Now she feels that there’s no need to put runner-ups through post-match speech torture.

“I don’t understand [why] they keep the runner-up on court for all of that ceremony because it is the worst moment… Of course, I would love to go out there to thank my opponent, to thank my team, say thank you to everyone, and just leave the court,” she told Australia’s The Age on January 12.

“I don’t want to be there. I need my time to cool down, to kind of switch off from what happened. The moment you step off court, you’re completely exhausted, and there are no emotions left.”

Sabalenka not only highlighted the hardest part, but she also opened up about how she herself failed at the task.

Sabalenka’s Personal Experience

Earlier this season, after her loss in the 2025 French Open final, Sabalenka was in the middle of controversy. She caused a stir as she didn’t give the winner, Coco Gauff, too much credit, but rather kept highlighting her own mistakes.

“I was just making unforced errors. I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes, kind of like from easy balls,” the Belarusian recalled.

Later, when she realized her mistake, she stated, “Conditions were terrible,” which restricted her thinking process.

A few months later, she’s on the right end of a Grand Slam as she defeated Amanda Anisimova at Flushing Meadows. Though she still believes she’s not good with her behavior, she’s learning and improving herself. Still, do you agree with her?

Written by

Yashika Dutta

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu