Aryna Sabalenka says she gave it her all in Stuttgart QF to make sure her boyfriend wasn't sad

Aryna Sabalenka beat Paula Badosa in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix quarterfinals on Friday to reach her third straight semifinal on the WTA tour.

Runner-up at the previous two Stuttgart editions, Sabalenka came back from a set down to down the Spaniard 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. In addition to the large number of fans supporting her in Stuttgart, there was one special guest cheering on the Belarusian -- her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.

Speaking at her press conference afterwards, the World No. 2 touched upon how his presence motivated her on the night. Sabalenka revealed that she saw him looking nervous a couple of times during the match, which only motivated the reigning Australian Open champion to try even harder.

Sabalenka admitted that she did not want her boyfriend to think that his presence was the reason behind her loss.

"I mean, yeah, his support is very important. Couple of times today on the match I was looking at him, and I saw him being very nervous. I was, like, No, I have to win this one. I don't want see him, I don't know, sad and thinking that it's his fault that I lost because he came (smiling). So I was just like pushing myself even harder to win this match," Aryna Sabalenka said.

Aryna Sabalenka then discussed her previous results at the Stuttgart Open, remarking that she wanted to go all the way this year and make up for her final losses in the last two editions. With just two more steps left, the 24-year-old expressed hope that she could finally win the Porsche car on offer.

"I would say that Stuttgart is on my goals list, you know, so I really want to win this tournament. But there is two more steps and two more really tough matches. I just want to focus on my game and focus on things I have to do on court to make it more real to win the car," Sabalenka said.

"I think it's easier to stay calm when everything kind of working well to you" - Aryna Sabalenka

2023 Miami Open - Day 8

Aryna Sabalenka also spoke about her mantra of "keeping calm" this year, opining that it was easier to do so when things were going right for her. The Belarusian admitted that she felt much calmer at the start of the season, where she went undefeated in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Despite a minor struggle after that, Sabalenka now has more confidence in herself, to the point where she knows she can get her emotions back in control even if she loses track of them once in a while.

"I think it's easier to stay calm when everything kind of working well to you. And even if you're like down in a break, you're feeling your best and you know that you can come back any time," Aryna Sabalenka said.

"So I would say that the first two tournaments it was easier to stay calm. Then I was a little bit struggle with that, but I think even when something is not working well, I still have this understanding that if I'm going to get crazy it's not going to help me. Sometimes I can overreact on some things, but overall I think I'm doing well," she added.