Clay game ready to blossom
Sabalenka has yet to reach the second week at Roland-Garros and it’s something she badly wants to change.
“It's an extra motivation for me to do better,” she said on Friday, referring to her last three losses at Porte d'Auteuil, which all came in the third round and in a deciding third set.
Never mind the past. In 2023 Sabalenka believes she is better than ever on the surface for myriad reasons.
“I think physically I'm stronger, so I'm able to move better on clay and I'm not rushing things and I'm calm on court,” said the Miami-based player. “A lot of things I improved, I would say since last year, so that's why it makes me better player on clay."
Sabalenka, who is 7-5 overall at Roland-Garros, will face Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the first round. She hopes that it will be a springboard to a career-best performance and - perhaps - the realisation of a long-term ranking goal.
“Last years weren't really good for me here at Roland-Garros – I'm gonna do everything I can to improve it,” she stated.