Aryna Sabalenka shares what she 'does not want to experience ever again'

Aryna Sabalenka says she is hoping her recent shoulder injury was her first and last setback that forced her to retire from a match and then miss a big tournament as the Belarusian admits she feared she would re-injure herself in her first tournament back and felt pretty sore afterward.

Although Sabalenka is 26 and has been around for a long time, her first mid-match retirement on the WTA Tour came only in June after she picked up a shoulder injury during a quarterfinal match versus Anna Kalinskaya. That same injury later forced the former world No. 1 to skip Wimbledon.

After being sidelined for 40 days, Sabalenka made her return on the hard courts of Washington last week. There, the two-time Grand Slam champion evidently wasn’t anywhere near her best level but still managed to reach the semifinal before losing to Marie Bouzkova.

On Thursday, Sabalenka resumed action after kicking off her campaign at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto with a 6-2 6-2 win over Yuan Yue to set up a round-of-16 meeting against Katie Boulter. 

“Yeah, that’s actually, yeah, that’s a different experience, and I really hope that I’m not going to experience that more in my career. That’s been really tricky to play the first tournament, because you are overprotective, you’re trying to kind of like not to overdo stuff, you are protecting your shoulder, and I think that’s create more tension,” Sabalenka said when asked how she feels now after returning from a shoulder injury.

“I was super sore in Washington, and coming here, yeah, we did a lot of recovery, a lot of mobility stretches. A lot of time I’m spending on extra mobility, on extra stretches, some treatment. Now I feel much better with my shoulder, I realize that I don’t have to protect it, that it’s done, it’s clean, I can go for it without fear that I can get injured again. Right now I feel more free on court and nothing bothering me there and it’s out of my mind, so it means that I can stay focused on the game and just compete and do my best.”

Aryna Sabalenka© Getty Images Sport – Vaughn Ridley

Sabalenka had a big summer on hard courts last year; what’s her expectation now?

Around this time last year, Sabalenka was hoping to win her second Grand Slam at the US Open but also overtake Iga Swiatek and finally reach the world No. 1 for the first time in her career. And Sabalenka wasn’t far away from accomplishing both of those goals – she ended as runner-up to Coco Gauff in the US Open final but still did enough to secure overthrowing Swiatek from the top-ranked position. 

At the start of this year’s North American hard-court swing, Sabalenka is the third-ranked player in the world but also now has two Grand Slams in her collection. 

While Sabalenka always plays and wants to win, she insists she is taking a humble approach leading up to the US Open.

“Well, I’m better without goals, you know (laughing). I guess, yeah, I guess small goals. I’m just trying to improve my game, and I’m just trying to focus step by step and be kind of like in the moment and trying to do everything I can in the moment with what I have,” Sabalenka said.

“Tennis is tricky, you know, you can feel completely different every day and you just have to work through it. Yeah, compared to the last year, it’s completely different situation, completely different, I would say. I mean, even ranking-wise, and last Grand Slam I wasn’t able to play, it’s different things, as I said, I’m working through, you know?”

Aryna Sabalenka© Getty Images Sport – Vaughn Ridley

Sabalenka explains how she reacted in a tricky Slam moment earlier this year

When Sabalenka came to the Australian Open earlier this year, she was returning to a Slam as the defending champion for the first time in her career. And the 26-year-old Belarusian passed that test extremely well as she was absolutely dominant and didn’t lose a single set en route to winning back-to-back titles at Melbourne Park.

“I mean, I would say maybe it was kind of like more pressure and expectations on me, but as an experienced player I was able just to shift my focus on the tennis and just forget about being a defending champion, forget about the Grand Slam or anything, and just try to bring my best tennis every time out on the court. Yeah, that’s it. Yeah, it was tough for the first matches, but then I remind myself that I have to focus on myself, otherwise I’ll be not able to play my best,” Sabalenka explained.

Aryna Sabalenka© Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney

Later this month, Sabalenka will certainly hoping to use all of her Slam experience to also win her first US Open title.