"Aryna Sabalenka's mind's on the baby thing now I fear" - Fans shocked by World No. 1's unexpected revelation after Dubai exit

Tennis fans were shocked after Aryna Sabalenka made an unexpected revelation following her loss at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships. In 2024 at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, Sabalenka lost in the second round to Donna Vekic.

This year, Sabalenka entered the Dubai Tennis Championships as the top seed and began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. The World No. 1 secured a victory over qualifier Veronika Kudermetova with a score of 6-3, 6-4 in her opening match but was defeated by Clara Tauson with a score of 3-6, 2-6 in the third round.

After losing in the third round at Dubai, Sabalenka revealed:

“I believe that I'm not that hungry on court. I'm kind of all over the place in my thoughts and not consistent on the court. The decisions I'm making on the court are a bit wrong and emotionally, I'm not on my best.” [as quoted by The National]

These comments came shortly after Sabalenka hinted at retirement plans and mentioned wanting to start a family before the 2025 Australian Open.

"Being a professional athlete, I’m kind of getting really close to my retirement, can you believe that? 27. People retire at like 30. I hope I’ll have family; I’ll have kids – I want to have kids. I don’t want to have my first kid at 35, you know," Sabalenka said.

Aryna Sabalenka's remarks about her lack of motivation on the court drew various reactions from tennis fans, who took to social media to share their thoughts

“Her mind's on the baby thing now i fear,” a fan posted.

“Can everyone just go to therapy,” a fan wrote.

“Giving 2022 Muguruza oh retirement soon pray for Terry,” a fan posted.

““I’m not that hungry” smh it’s so over 😭 ,” a fan wrote.

Here are some other fan reactions:

“Okay so about that sports psychologist…” a fan posted.

“The rage i feel. the rage,” a fan wrote.

“I'm confident she will be back. Everyone goes through rough patches. Even the best players,” a fan posted.

Sabalenka is next expected to compete at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open.

---

Aryna Sabalenka is next to compete at the BNP Paribas Open 2025 at Indian Wells

Aryna Sabalenka (R) was the runner-up at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Aryna Sabalenka is next expected to compete at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open from March 2 to March 16 and the matches will be played on the outdoor hard courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

In 2024, Sabalenka was seeded second at the WTA 1000 hard court tournament and she kicked off her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She began by defeating Peyton Stearns 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(6), and wild card Emma Raducanu 6-3, 7-6 in the second and third rounds, respectively. However, her run at the tournament ended in the fourth round when she was defeated by 23rd seed Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-3, 2-6.

Sabalenka's best performance at the BNP Paribas Open came in 2023. She defeated the likes of Evgeniya Rodina, Lesia Tsurenko, Barbora Krejcikova, Coco Gauff, and Maria Sakkari to secure a spot in the final. Despite her impressive run, she fell short in the final match, losing to Elena Rybakina and finishing as the runner-up

Sabalenka clinched her only title at Indian Wells in the 2019 doubles event, partnering with Elise Mertens. The duo defeated the top-seeded pair of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.