It’s been 10 and one-half months since Aryna Sabalenka played an official match on clay. That was the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and resulted in a disappointing loss to teenager Mirra Andreeva.
As you can imagine, after 13 hard-court tournaments (and one on grass in Berlin), the World No. 1 is just itching to get out there at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to get this party on European red clay started.
Stuttgart: Draws | Scores | Order of play
“I’m happy to be back,” she told reporters Tuesday in Stuttgart. “I feel good and can’t wait to start playing on clay.”
Sabalenka smiled when she said it, because she already knew that wait, oddly enough, would be extended for a few more days.
Here’s the skinny: As the top seed, Sabalenka received a first-round bye in the 28-player main draw and was due to play the winner of the match between Anastasia Potapova and Clara Tauson. Potapova emerged victorious over Tauson after a fierce 2-hour, 41-minute contest, coming back from a set down and saving a match point.
But that effort came at a profound cost. Potapova’s post on Instagram explained that she aggravated a prior injury and would be forced to withdraw from the tournament.
“I was worried if everything is OK with her,” Sabalenka said, “so I messaged her and I figured out the situation. I was like, `What are you doing to me? My next match is on Saturday.’”
Indeed, because the tournament observes the Good Friday Easter holiday, the quarterfinals won’t be played until Saturday, when Sabalenka will finally face her former doubles partner Elise Mertens. The possibility of a Sunday semifinal opposite No. 4 seed Coco Gauff or No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini looms.
“Yeah, that’s a bit awkward,” Sabalenka allowed. “But we adjusted a little bit of practice schedule, and I guess that’s gym time for me.”
So while she’ll be hitting the weights, without so much as lifting a racket, Sabalenka is into her fifth quarterfinal in Stuttgart — in as many tries.
The goal? To close the deal this time. Sabalenka has come tantalizingly close to the title here, reaching the final three times. In 2021, she lost to Ashleigh Barty in three sets. The next two years, Iga Swiatek was the champion.
Sabalenka practicing ahead of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart last weekend.
Jimmie48/WTA
“I lost three finals against World No. 1s,” Sabalenka noted. “So I was like, `OK, I have to do it. I have to come back here as World No. 1. Maybe that’s the deal.
“Of course I have it in mind. It was three tough matches. I’ll keep it in mind as a motivation. If I make it to the finals, I’ll be hungry as ever, and I’ll be focused as never before.”
Sabalenka has won 23 of 27 matches this year and is coming off a winning run at the Miami Open and also won the title in Brisbane. The results that clearly linger in Sabalenka’s mind are losses in the Australian Open and Indian Wells finals, to Madison Keys and Andreeva respectively.
Asked if this was the best start to a season, Sabalenka referenced 2023 and 2024, the years she lifted the trophy in Melbourne.
By a broad consensus, though, her social media game has never been better. She’s got 2.7 million followers on Instagram and a typical video will garner one million views. Sabalenka revealed that she’s not in this alone.
“Obviously all of the pictures and videos, it’s taken by me,” she said. “I just have a team who helps to put it all together. I think a year ago, I would put the videos together by myself and it takes a lot of time. I just didn’t want to keep doing that.”
Suddenly, Sabalenka and the team have some unexpected free time.
