AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2025

Aryna Sabalenka

Press Conference

A. SABALENKA/P. Badosa

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Aryna, you're into your third straight Australian Open final. Talk about your emotions and also reflections on tonight's match.

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, of course I'm super happy to be in the finals. It's going to be great battle no matter who I face.

About today's match, it was incredible match. She played an incredible tennis. It's always tough facing your friend, but I'm super happy to see her playing on her best level. I just told her, like, Just stay there and things are going your way, you're going to get it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously your priority from here is winning the title. However you can win it, you want to win it. Given we don't know who you're going to face at this point, if you had the choice, given the rivalry you have with Iga, would you choose her to face in the final?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, why not? Every match we play, it's always a battle. I always enjoy playing her. We had a lot of great battles in the past. Obviously she has a great record against me, but for me it doesn't mean anything. Every day, it's a new opportunity and you can change things. So if it's going to be her, I'll happy to face her.

Also Keys, she's playing incredible tennis as well. She's very aggressive player, serving well, moving well. I mean, I saw her matches here. She's in a great shape. It's also going to be a great battle. We had a lot of great battles in the past.

Honestly, I don't have a priority, a preference, who to face in the finals. Anyway, whoever gets there, it doesn't happen - I don't know - if it's happen, it meant to be, and it means that the player is in a good shape. It's going to be a great battle.

Q. Obviously if it is to be Iga, that's a rivalry that everyone is really excited about. It will be the first time you played in a Grand Slam final. How much does that matter to you? How much does that excite you, the prospect of playing this player who everyone thinks is your biggest rival?

ARYNA SABALENKA: It's exciting. It's exciting to have a rivalry. It's great. Like every time I face her, I get better the player, and she force me to get better. She also motivate me to work really hard and to get better. Every time we play against each other, it's great battles, as I said.

I mean, it's exciting. If it's going to be No. 1 against No. 2 finals, that's huge. It's good for tennis. I really hope it's going to be great battle.

Q. On a similar theme, if it is Iga and it's your first Grand Slam final meeting, do you think that changes anything? Will it feel different?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I mean, that's definitely going to be bigger than the rest of the finals we played.

But honestly, it doesn't change anything. Anyway, like I just have to go there and I have to just fight for every point. I have to stay focused. I have to bring my best tennis if it's going to happen.

Q. On today's match, how would you rate your level today?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, after Love-2, Love-40, after that I'd rate that I played really great tennis. I mean, I played incredible match, I think.

Q. She said it was a little bit too good, and she kind of felt the winners were zinging past her everywhere, there wasn't much she could do. Are there moments in matches where you feel that is the case for you, that you have it that night?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I think when I broke her twice and I was 3-2 up, I felt like, Okay, I'm back. I felt my game much better. I was like, Okay, now it's time to step in.

After that I think I felt like, Okay, it's really too good. But, you know, you never know in tennis. You are just trying to stay focused and keep the level and keep the pressure on your opponent. I saw that she was getting frustrated, So I was trying to put her under more pressure.

But I think, yeah, in that moment I kind of, like, realized, okay, I just have to keep the pressure on her.

Q. On Saturday, what does the possibility of winning three titles mean to you?

ARYNA SABALENKA: That's crazy. That's crazy that I was able to put myself on the situation where I have chance to put my name next to the legends. I mean, I couldn't even dream about that. It's going to mean a lot for me.

Q. You're in the third final coming up on Saturday. Over the last three years, there must be some things that have changed for you off the court in your time in Australia. This year is there any one thing that's been a surprise or different about your experience in Australia?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I just feel like home. Like last year I thought, okay, I feel like home, I feel so good here, I feel all the support. This year I feel even more. I feel like I'm coming home to my home slam. I know everything. I know every area. I know where to warm up so it's not that crowded.

I go there, and I feel like people screaming my name, they support me. I have goose bumps every time they scream, like, Let's go Aryna. It's incredible to feel that support here.

Q. Obviously the main thing or the only thing maybe is just winning for yourself. With the Iga rivalry, how conscious are you of what that could do for the sport?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Honestly, I think it's not something you are really focusing on. You're just trying to focus on yourself. I think the moment when you start to thinking about things outside of, like, match situation, it kind of like can destroy you.

At the moment, when I'm in the tournament, I'm just focusing on myself, focusing on bringing my best tennis, make sure it's great battles, it's enjoyable for people to watch us play. Afterwards, I can think about, like, everything as a bigger picture.

I think that's really great for sport to have, like, big names, to have this rivalry situation, to just bring tennis to another level, and bring women's sport to another level so it's more interesting for people to watch.

That's really important, I think.

Q. On facing Iga, you said she pushes you to play better, to be better over the last few years. Can you identify what that means to you? What did she push you to improve?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, she brings really high intensity on court. She's moving well. She's really making you work for it. She's playing as well. She's moving well, but she's also, like, aggressive player, I would say. Physically she push you to be stronger.

Over the years I work so much on my physical ability, so make sure whenever I face her, I'm not getting tired. I think we improved a lot in that part.

I think basically that's it.

Q. We always talk about the amount of power that you have in your game. You also use so many trajectories, angles. How much do you feel like you're playing on instinct versus tactics?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, I mean, of course I have a tactic. Whenever it's important moment, I just stay disciplined with the tactic.

But I have to say that, I don't know, honestly I feel like the tactic is in my head, but I follow the instincts most of the times. So it's kind of like a balance.

Whenever I don't feel that my instincts are working, I get back to the tactic. Whenever I have feel like now it's time to trust myself more, I go for it. It's a balance you have to understand yourself really good to be able to manage this.

Q. On Madison Keys, given she's still in her semifinal at the moment, I'm thinking back to the match you played against her at the US Open, which was incredibly close. What do you remember from that night about how you felt playing her?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I was under so much pressure. It felt like she was just going for her shots, and everything was going in. She was just crushing it.

I think at some moments she was just, like, start questioning herself. I saw that and I felt like, Okay, now is the moment to make sure that you put as many balls back as you can. I think that was the crucial moment. I just turn around things.

But yeah, she played incredible, aggressive tennis in that semis. Also US Open quarter, a little bit faster than here. So I think the conditions suit her really well there.

Q. Is she the only player that has done that to you? Usually you're the aggressive player.

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I mean, yeah (laughing). She just, like, was over-hitting it, and everything was going in.