San Francisco Frontiers - Taming inner 'tiger' takes Sabalenka to the top

The fiery 27-year-old from Belarus produced a performance of ruthless efficiency to see off Amanda Anisimova in straight sets to clinch the fourth Grand Slam title of her career.

Those closest to Sabalenka say her journey to the top is the result of a new-found mental durability that has seen her find peace on and off the court.

"As everyone knows, she's quite an emotional player and an emotional person," Sabalenka's fitness trainer Jason Stacy explained on the eve of Saturday's 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Anisimova at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"How she feels is going to determine what direction she's going to go in" Stacy added. "As she's becoming more mature and more experienced, she's starting to understand that she has to learn how to manage those things and how to control those things.

"Sometimes she has this internal battle of how to keep that tiger under control but let it free at the same time. There's this constant battle that she's revisiting."

Sometimes Sabalenka has let her emotions get the better of her.

After an agonising defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final in June, she was widely criticised for suggesting that the result was down to her poor play rather than Gauff's performance.

Sabalenka later apologised for that outburst, and has since sworn it will never happen again.

- 'I was completely wrong' -

"After that I had to sit back and reflect on everything and apologise and make sure people understand -- that I was just over-emotional," she said on the eve of the US Open.

"I was completely wrong. It was a tough lesson but it helped me in so many different ways."

Sabalenka's maturity was on full display in her win over Anisimova, where she navigated some awkward moments with calm authority while pouncing on her opponents mistakes before dominating a second set tiebreak to win.

It was a far cry from the dark days of 2022, when her deteriorating serve led to defeats which left her wondering whether it was time to hang up her racquet.

In back-to-back losses against lowly ranked opponents as she prepared for the Australian Open, she committed 18 and 21 double faults.

An umpire in one of the games had to ask if she was okay to continue before she broke down in tears on the court.

"There was a point when I was, like, 'Okay, I'm done here, I think it's time to go and do something else in life,'" Sabalenka reflected earlier this year.

Sabalenka rebuilt her serve under the tutelage of biomechanics guru as Gavin MacMillan and the results followed, winning her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2023 before retaining the title in 2024.

A first US Open followed last year, setting her up for Saturday's title defence.

Sabalenka's coach Anton Dubrov says happiness on and off the court has allowed Sabalenka to flourish.

"I think it's good for everyone to find this balance between the job and life, this work-life balance," said Dubrov. "This helps a lot because you feel more confident and safe on the court.

"Most of the time, I think athletes, if they lose, they think they're doing everything wrong outside of the court. On the court, it's your job. You're working. You're an athlete.

"Yes, it's a big part of your life, but at the same time, your life outside helps you do your job better. I think it's really helped Aryna to be more calm."

J.Peterson--SFF