Aryna Sabalenka: Men's tennis is more interesting to watch than women's

Aryna Sabalenka made an interesting revelation about what kind of tennis matches she likes to watch ahead of her campaign at the 2024 Madrid Open.

Sabalenka is the defending champion in Madrid and has received a first-round bye courtesy of her No. 2 seeding. She will face Magda Linette or Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the second round on April 25. Before her opening match at the tournament, the World No. 2 took part in the Media Day and discussed her preferences when it comes to watching a tennis match.

In her pre-tournament press conference, Sabalenka revealed that she does not watch many tennis matches, but when she does, it is usually an ATP Tour contest instead of a WTA Tour one. The Belarusian finds men's tennis more strategic and interesting, which makes it more watch-worthy.

"I'm not someone who watches too much tennis, I prefer to watch men's tennis rather than women's tennis, I feel like there is more logic and it's more interesting to watch (laughs)," Sabalenka said.

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Aryna Sabalenka aims to become the 2nd woman to win three Madrid Open titles

Aryna Sabalenka at 2023 Madrid Open

Aryna Sabalenka would be hoping to be just the second woman after Petra Kvitova to win three titles at the Madrid Open. The Belarusian emerged victorious at the WTA 1000 tournament in 2021 and 2023, defeating Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek, both World No. 1s at the time.

In addition, Sabalenka can also become the first woman to defend her Madrid Open title since Simona Halep in 2017. She failed to do so in 2022 after losing to Amanda Anisimova in the opening round.

Aryna Sabalenka will enter the 2024 Madrid Open on the back of a quarterfinal exit at the Stuttgart Open, her first clay court tournament of the year. The 25-year-old defeated Paula Badosa before losing to Marketa Vondrousova.

Sabalenka's 2024 season has been mixed-bag so far. She reached the final of the WTA 500 Brisbane International and successfully defended her title at the Australian Open. More impressively, she did not drop a set en route to her second Grand Slam title.

However, since then, Sabalenka has failed to impress on the court. The former World No. 1 suffered an unceremonious upset at the hands of Donna Vekic in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships and exited the BNP Paribas Open in the fourth round. The Belarusian played at the Miami Open after suffering a personal tragedy right before the tournament and lost to Anhelina Kalinina in the third round.