Aryna Sabalenka gets honest about her new friendship with Iga Swiatek

Aryna Sabalenka opened up about her friendship with Iga Swiatek. As Sabalenka is a tremendous competitor, she may be expected by some to not always get along with fellow rivals. However, she and Swiatek get along quite well.

It wasn’t always like that because the relationship did seem somewhat cold at the start, but in recent weeks they have warmed up to each other. At the end of the last season, they did a TikTok together and then went on to practice with each other a few times. The budding friendship drew a lot of interest from the media, and Sabalenka addressed it during her Brisbane International press conference.

The Belarusian provided a bit of context on the relationship, saying,

"Yeah, it was fun. It all started on the Finals. I asked her to do TikTok. I was, 'Okay, whatever, I'm going to ask and see what happens.' I thought we have to stay together and have fun and just enjoy our rivalry, not be too tough on each other. So I asked. We did it. Since that we already practise couple of times. Then I was doing fitness after our fit. She was like, 'I can join you guys.'"

Sabalenka has been a pretty dynamic personality on the Tour, getting along well with many of her colleagues. Swiatek is more reserved and shy, and having gotten to know her, Sabalenka said she's a "nice person." She said,

"It's been becoming more chill between us, too. I have to say she's really nice person. It was fun get to know each other."

Time will tell if their newfound friendship goes hand-in-hand with success on the courts.

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A look at Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka's rivalry

The rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka has produced several great matches already. They have taken on each other in 12 matches so far, with Swiatek leading the head-to-head record 8-4. Their first meeting came at the 2021 WTA Finals, with Sabalenka winning in three sets.

Their most recent match came in Cincinnati, which Sabalenka also won. When it comes to finals, Swiatek and Sabalenka have played four title deciders, with three of those being won by Swiatek. The most recent victory came at the 2024 Madrid Open.

This rivalry will continue in 2025 and it looks to be the driving factor for women's tennis as both players are expected to remain at the top of the game for many years to come.