Aryna Sabalenka reveals mindset shift fueling her success after reaching Miami Open final

Aryna Sabalenka recently disclosed how she has gained a mental edge over the rest of her peers after reaching the 2025 Miami Open final on Thursday (March 27). The World No. 1 admittedly has strong belief in herself, which she instilled after facing various setbacks in her career.

Sabalenka began her semifinal match against sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini with dominance as she broke the Italian's serve twice to win the first set 6-2. Although the Belarusian faced three break points in the second set, she saved all of them before defeating the 5'4 big-hitter 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 13 minutes to reach the final in Miami for the first time in her career.

Following her relentless display, Aryna Sabalenka sat down for an interview with Tennis Channel. During the interaction, the three-time Major winner was asked by host Prakash Amitraj whether there was a "separate mental training" that she undertook in recent months, considering it was the part of her game that stood out the most.

In response, the 26-year-old claimed that she had overcome "a lot of challenges" to become the player she was. Moreover, her positive mindset also helped her achieve big things in tennis and life, by her own admission.

"Honestly, I don't know. I think I had a lot of challenges to overcome and I think that's what made me a very tough person," Aryna Sabalenka said during her interview with Tennis Channel on Thursday (from 2:20 onwards). "Whenever I'm struggling with something, I'm just keeping reminding myself how tough I am, how strong I am, and that I can handle anything. So I think that's the mindset going into anything in life basically, not only tennis."

Sabalenka first announced herself as a top-flight player in 2018 by winning her first WTA 1000 title against all odds at the Wuhan Open. The Belarusian struggled with her results at Majors in her early years, though, which wasn't helped by the fact that her father, Sergey, passed away unexpectedly in 2019. Following a slump for a small period of time, she won her first Major title at the 2023 Australian Open and has only gone from strength to strength since then.

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Aryna Sabalenka vying for her eighth WTA 1000 title in Miami

Aryna Sabalenka hits a forehand during Miami Open SFs | Image Source: Getty

Aryna Sabalenka has put together an impressive resume over the years. The World No. 1 has three Major titles, seven WTA 1000 titles, and one year-end championship runner-up finish to her name. She will be hopeful of her 11th big title victory at the 2025 Miami Open later this week.

The Belarusian will face the winner between fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula or Filipino wildcard Alexandra Eala in the summit clash at the Florida event. While she has never faced Eala on the WTA Tour, she owns a 6-2 edge over Pegula - notably defeating the American in back-to-back finals at the US Open and the Cincinnati Open last year.