World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka says she has moved on from her Australian Open defeat against Madison Keys and is now focusing on the current Middle East swing.
Sabalenka was aiming for her third consecutive Australian Open title in January. However, she came up short in the final, losing in a three-set battle to the American.
Recalling her loss, the athlete admitted: “This one was the toughest one… I think for a week I was still thinking about that match.”
She added: “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.”
What’s next for Sabalenka?
The 26-year old athlete is now back in action at the Qatar Open, which started on a Sunday for the first time since 2022. This tournament in Doha is the first WTA 1000 event of the season.
After Qatar, the top players on the tour will head to the WTA 1000 event in Dubai.
Having won in Doha in 2020, Sabalenka aims to treat these back-to-back tournaments as a preparatory stage for March’s “Sunshine Double”, which includes the 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami in the United States.
Sabalenka said: “The schedule is 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… 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 started on Feb 1 in Abu Dhabi. Sabalenka has a first-round bye in Doha and will begin her campaign against either British wild card Emma Raducanu or Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova.