“Winning is addictive,” declares Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion, on the eve of her Dubai Championships debut. Returning to action with an insatiable hunger for success, the Belarusian is determined to build upon her recent triumph. Last month, Sabalenka stormed to her second Grand Slam title, dominating Zheng Qinwen in straight sets to become the first woman in over a decade to defend the Melbourne Park crown. Now undefeated for the season and eyeing the world No. 1 ranking, Sabalenka refuses to rest on her laurels. “It’s in my nature to keep striving,” she affirms, her eyes fixed on the next challenge.
Sabalenka is an incendiary athlete who shows no reluctance to let her emotions fly on the tennis court and show the world what she is all about. Her screams, eye-rolls, and death stares are part of the compelling nature of watching as she battles with the best in the business. That savagery and intensity helped her win two Grand Slams in her debut season, and now she wants more.
“The biggest motivation for me is my father, and I want to win as many titles as possible for him,” she told Khaleej Times. “But I also have a lot of goals for myself. I want to get better every day, and I have a good coach who helps me with that. I think it is my nature to work hard and try to win as much as possible.”
She won three tournaments in 2024 and was runner-up at the Nature Valley International in February. She has reached the semifinals at four Grand Slams this year, including her win at Melbourne Park. The 25-year-old has climbed to world No. 2 on the back of her triumph and will be one of the favorites for this weekend’s French Open in Paris, where she could close the gap on Poland’s Iga Swiatek to the top of the rankings.
Sabalenka will start her Dubai campaign against Donna Vekic on Tuesday and aims to reach round two after a first-round bye. The pair have met seven times, with Vekic holding a 5-2 head-to-head advantage. She was runner-up to the Ukrainian in Paris last year and is on a streak of winning three of her past four matches against the Belarusian.
The winner of the Dubai tournament will earn 1,200 points, and Sabalenka hopes to take a big step towards the top spot. She would need to win the event and Swiatek to lose before the semifinals to gain the top ranking, but that is an improbable scenario.
