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HENGQIN LIFE WTA ELITE TROPHY ZHUHAI

October 21, 2019

Aryna Sabalenka

Zhuhai, China

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. You're back in Zhuhai again. What do you make of qualifying and what have you made of the end of your season so far?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, of course I'm happy to qualify in Zhuhai. Of course in the beginning of the season I wanted to qualify in Shenzhen, but things doesn't go well (smiling).

But I'm happy to be here and I think in the end of the season I start playing much better and right now I don't want to end the season, I want to keep playing. Yeah, I just am ready to go.

Q. It doesn't seem like you've lost momentum from Wuhan. Do you feel like maybe you learned something from the beginning of the season that kind of helped you stay in a good head space after having a great week a few weeks ago?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I think the main thing is I just need to play tennis, nothing else. All things around, I mean just need to focus on the game and that's it. Don't care about the points and all this pressure stuff and just be on the court and fight and that's it.

Q. You're in the same group as Elise and you're playing doubles next week. Have you spoken to her since the draw came out and what do you make of your group?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Well they just told me about the draw like a few seconds ago, so I'm not really happy that Elise is in the same group as me, but (smiling) it's, like we're focusing more on singles here. But, yeah, I don't know, it's a little weird and we haven't spoke yet, but I think, I don't know, I didn't think about this yet, but of course I'm not really happy that she's in the same group, but I mean it's tennis. You can't control this.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese.

Q. We know that you've got many gifts from Zhuhai last year and one of them is the one you showed on the press conference, the cell phone case. How long have you been using that case and what kind of gifts are you expecting this time?
ARYNA SABALENKA: I like to not expect any present, like I like to have like a surprise. And, yeah, I use that case, that phone case for a little while and it was really nice, I still keep them at home. And, yeah, and there was also a pillow with a picture on it, so it's still at home. I actually like to have presents in China, it's always something interesting and something special.

Q. You always have a good result in China. Three titles and one runner-up. Do you feel any special connection or bond with this country and the Chinese fans, they call you the daughter of China.
(Laughter.)

ARYNA SABALENKA: Whoa.

Q. How do you feel about that?
ARYNA SABALENKA: I never heard that before, but it's really nice to hear. I don't know, it just feels like at home here and it's always nice to play in China and, yeah, the Chinese fans support me like crazy here and I really like it and it's really helped me on the court.

So, yeah, it feels like something special every time I play in China and every time I expect a great level of play here.

Q. Speaking of the China Open and the fans discovered that you were kind of crying after losing the match in the China Open and what's making that difficult for you?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Oh, I mean, I had just won my title and I arrived in China and I expected a great level, even though I was tired, but still I expected something good in Beijing. And I guess I like to play in China and I don't really like to lose here. And, yeah, it was a tough match, I couldn't do anything there. I mean, I did my best, but it was really not the best level there. I was really tired and after the match I was crying because I couldn't do anything. I mean, I couldn't win that match. It's always tough to lose, so sometimes we're crying, sometimes in the locker room, sometimes right after you went out from the court.

Q. Last year you didn't make it to the semi final, but you're the only one who defeated the champion, Ashleigh Barty. So the group match format is very complicated, so how do you describe that?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, yeah, it was a weird feeling last year. I just needed to win one set against Garcia and that's why maybe I got tight there and I couldn't show my best. But I didn't really expect that she's going to win the title. But it was weird, yeah. I was like, what's wrong here with this system?

(Laughter.)

Q. I really like the photo you took in the Shaolin temple. It's really, really cool. How do you feel about that experience and do you enjoy like posing or modeling or any temptation to be a model after your tennis career?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Well I can model during my career in my free time. I like it, actually. I like shooting and I like this kind of shooting, like something interesting. And it was really, it was really nice experience there, it was really nice to be there to have the opportunity to shoot in these nice clothes. I mean, I also like this picture too, it was really nice. I really want to go there one more time. The atmosphere there is really strong, like maybe that's why I won Wuhan, because the atmosphere and everything was like magic there.

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