Aryna Sabalenka shares how she learned to deal with crowd pressure

Aryna Sabalenka will get the chance to play in the US Open final for the second year in a row. To reach this milestone, the two-time Grand Slam champion defeated American Emma Navarro in straight sets, shattering the Flushing Meadows crowd’s dream of an all-American women’s singles final.

The Belarusian told the press conference that she had learned from the experience she had gained last year during the US Open final against an American. She explained that although the crowd cheered Emma, ​​they could not help her win the match unless Aryna herself let them get inside her head.

“They’re cheering for her, but how can they help her win the game? Only if I let them get into my head and only if I get lost, you know, go crazy. So yeah, the tricky thing is the noise of how loud it can be in this stadium. Today wasn’t really that crazy of a day. They were loud, but during the point they were respectful and relaxed, you know.

Last year they were just super loud, even on point. It was so loud that it blocked my ears, so it was, like, a lot of pressure. I think the mistake was that I was focusing on myself, but I didn’t think that she was actually on the same court, that she was hearing the same sound as the crowd and that we were all in the same situation,” she explained.

The Belarusian then explained that Losing the US Open final last year only made her desire to come back strongerAccording to Aryna, tough losses never make her feel depressed, but rather motivate her to come back and try again.

“Every time I come back here, I have this positive thought, like: Come on, maybe this time. Every time I hope that one day I can hold that beautiful trophy. You know, the tough losses never depress me, never think about not coming back to the tournament. It just motivates me to come back and try again, to try harder and work harder on things that maybe didn’t work in the past. I still hope to hold that beautiful trophy.

I’ve had some really tough lessons here in the past. I think I’ve had so many opportunities here, but I didn’t take them for different reasons. I wasn’t ready. Then I got emotional. Then I couldn’t handle the crowd. I felt like I missed an opportunity, and every time I come back here, I really enjoy being in New York, I enjoy these courts, I enjoy the crowd, I enjoy playing in this beautiful stadium in front of the crowd. I enjoy the city, I enjoy the time on the court,” she added.