Sabalenka moving on from Australian Open final loss, focuses on Doha
World number one Aryna Sabalenka, aged 26, has stated that she has moved on from her defeat in the Australian Open final against Madison Keys and is now concentrating on the current Middle East tournament series.
Sabalenka aimed to secure her third consecutive title in Melbourne last month but faced a setback, losing to the American in a challenging three-set match.
"This was the most difficult loss for me. I found myself reflecting on that match for about a week," the Belarusian remarked to reporters in Doha on Sunday.
"Honestly, looking back and thinking about those two lost games (in the final set), I didn't do anything wrong, she just played out of her mind, and it was her day, there's nothing to regret. I think right now I'm fully recovered after that tough match."
Sabalenka has returned to compete at the Qatar Open, which commenced on Sunday, marking her first participation since 2022. This tournament in Doha is the first WTA 1000 event of the season.
Following the Qatar Open, the leading players on the tour will proceed to the WTA 1000 event in Dubai.
Having won the championship in Doha in 2020, Sabalenka has indicated that she will approach these consecutive tournaments in the Gulf as a preparatory phase for next month's 'Sunshine Doubles,' which includes 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami in the United States.
"The schedule is actually pretty tough, especially if you make it to the last stage of the Australian Open, then you don't have much time to recover and prepare yourself for these big events," explained the three-time major champion.
"I believe I'll just take these two tournaments as a preparation for the Sunshine one, and I'll try to build my tennis, and probably take my tennis to the next level in these two events."
The Middle East swing commenced in Abu Dhabi last week, where Belinda Bencic secured her first title less than ten months after the birth of her daughter, Bella.
"That's impressive, honestly. She just came back, I think Australian Open she had a great run (to the fourth round), and now she's holding the trophy. It's amazing, I'm super happy for her, she definitely deserved that," said Sabalenka of Bencic's triumph in the UAE capital.
"As she mentioned, she put in a tremendous amount of effort to achieve this, and it is encouraging to witness. It gives us hope that whenever we decide to have children, we can still make a comeback if we choose to," the top seed added with a smile.
Sabalenka has received a bye in the first round in Doha and will commence her campaign against either British wildcard Emma Raducanu or Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Iga Swiatek has claimed victory in the last three editions of the tournament and enters this year's competition on a 12-match winning streak in Qatar.
The second seed will face either Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse or former top-five player Maria Sakkari in the second round.
SportsLigue