Aryna Sabalenka credits her late father for instilling mental toughness in her

2023 Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka demonstrated exemplary mental strength on her way to a maiden Grand Slam title last month. She recently revealed that her late father Sergey Sabalenka was the one who inspired her to fight through difficult situations.

The World No. 2 rallied from a set down to defeat 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the first Major of the year. She has kicked off her season by winning the WTA 500 Adelaide International 1 and has an 11-0 win-loss record so far in 2023.

The next assignment for the Belarusian star is the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. After receiving a bye in the first round, the second seed will face America's Lauren Davis in the second round later today, February 21.

One of Sabalenka's highlights in Melbourne was successfully rectifying her serve, which caused a lot of problems for her last year. Speaking to Arab News, she spoke about her father, who passed away in November of 2019 at the age of 43.

“I didn’t really see myself as a really tough person before last year happened," said Sabalenka. "When I figured out the serve problems, I understood that I probably could get through whatever happens in my life."

Sabalenka that her father set an example for her with the way he dealt with his problems, which eventually helped her gain mental toughness.

"I think my father made me a really tough person without actually knowing that," she added. "The way he was trying to motivate me, the way he was trying to raise me, the things he was telling me, the things he was fighting through, he was a really tough person. He was a great example in some ways for me."

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"I want to be an even tougher person and opponent" - Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka during the 2023 Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka is in no mood for complacency after winning the 2023 Australian Open and she already misses the feeling of winning a Grand Slam title. In the same interview, she stated that she will continue to work hard to become a tougher opponent and win more titles.

"You’re winning and you want it more, especially those titles, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I want to feel that again.’ I just want to keep improving and I just want to be an even tougher person, a tougher opponent," said Aryna Sabalenka. "I just want to feel it again, feel again this feeling of winning a Grand Slam. It was really amazing."

The Belarusian player will play her first match since winning in Melbourne today at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.