A Champion Who Feels "Kind of Lost"
Aryna Sabalenka arrived at the 2025 US Open carrying the weight of a title defence and a puzzling mid-season slump. Her coach Anton Dubrov, who has been part of her team since 2020, recently sat down on the Served podcast to address the elephant in the room. After Sabalenka swept the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami in March, the wins dried up. Tight defeats in Madrid and Rome gave way to a jarring French Open quarter-final collapse against Diana Shnaider, where the world No. 1 dropped ten consecutive games. Early exits at Wimbledon, the Canadian Open, and the Cincinnati Open only deepened the concern.
Dubrov described the psychological toll candidly. When a team is accustomed to deep tournament runs, an early loss can leave everyone feeling disoriented. "You find yourself kind of lost; it's awkward," he admitted, though he was quick to clarify the mood has never tipped into despair.
Drawing Inspiration From the Greats
Rather than overhauling Sabalenka's game, Dubrov says the team has chosen to look outward for motivation. He cited Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and the late basketball icon Kobe Bryant as reference points, studying how all-time greats have navigated inevitable rough patches. His philosophy is straightforward: downturns are where the biggest growth happens.
On the rankings front, Sabalenka holds a slim lead over Elena Rybakina, while Mirra Andreeva lurks close behind in the WTA Race. A poor showing at Flushing Meadows could reshuffle the top spots significantly.
With a third straight US Open title on the line, TennisDraw users have been weighing Sabalenka heavily in their bracket predictions, making her one of the most debated picks of the tournament.
