A Season of Highs and Lows Forces a Rethink
Aryna Sabalenka arrived at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells carrying both momentum and question marks. The world No. 2 opened her round-robin campaign with a straight-sets victory over Karolina Muchova, but off the court the bigger story was the shake-up happening within her inner circle. Reports from journalist Ben Rothenberg indicate that Sabalenka has ended her working relationship with Belarusian compatriot and former top-20 player Max Mirnyi, as well as physiotherapist and athletic trainer Helen Murawska.
Mirnyi, who previously worked with Kei Nishikori, joined Sabalenka's setup in the summer of 2025 and was part of the team during her US Open triumph last year. His role focused primarily on improving her net game, with Sabalenka herself acknowledging his expertise as a former elite doubles specialist. However, he was absent throughout the past week in Indian Wells, and when asked about it, Sabalenka described him warmly but stopped short of confirming any formal split. Mirnyi reportedly had nothing to say publicly about the situation. Head coach Anton Dubrov and performance coach Jason Stacy remain in place.
Can a Fresh Setup Spark a Late-Season Revival?
The timing of these changes reflects a difficult stretch for Sabalenka. After a stunning 23-1 start to 2026 that included reaching the Australian Open final and winning titles at Indian Wells and Miami, her results deteriorated sharply. A collapse against Diana Shnaider at the French Open and a bagel loss to Jessica Pegula in Berlin highlighted a troubling pattern of squandering winning positions.
With round-robin matches still to come against French Open champion Mirra Andreeva and the experienced Elina Svitolina, Sabalenka needs her best tennis urgently. TennisDraw users will be watching closely to see whether their bracket picks for a Sabalenka deep run still hold up after all these off-court developments.
