World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has shared her thoughts on which players in the WTA tour excel at specific tennis strokes.
When asked about who performs each of the four key tennis strokes – forehand, backhand, serve, and return of serve – the best, Sabalenka initially joked about her own abilities.
“On a good day, I would say I serve the best. Forehand – [Jannik] Sinner. Can I say that?” she laughed.
After being reminded to choose from the women’s tour, Sabalenka continued, “Forehand? Backhand? I’m just so in love with myself on good days. I can’t think about other players,” she chuckled.
She then thoughtfully considered, “Wait, serve – Elena [Rybakina], when she is playing well.”
For the forehand, with a bit of prompting, she selected Madison Keys.
Regarding the backhand, Sabalenka initially struggled to decide, saying, “Guys, you are just killing me. Coco is good. Thank you for helping me. Can someone help? Let’s skip the question, I am answering so badly.”
However, when asked specifically about the return of serve, she quickly responded, “Oh god. Iga [Swiatek]. Iga is good. Serve – I named Rybakina. Volley and slice – [Ashleigh] Barty.”
Sabalenka also discussed her fitness training, noting that her fitness coach Jason Stacy incorporates Jiu-Jitsu into her program. She mentioned that core exercises are inspired by Jiu-Jitsu, which she finds beneficial for tennis as it’s a full-body workout.
“Part of our fitness is related to Jiu-Jitsu. My core exercises are taken from there, and I like it. It’s like a full-body workout. I think it’s good for tennis players,” Sabalenka explained.
She humorously added that while her coach practices Jiu-Jitsu, he isn’t very successful due to cramps. Sabalenka herself avoids it, jokingly suggesting her team fears she might become too powerful if she realizes her own strength. Therefore, they stick to activities like soccer during training, Sabalenka concluded at the press conference.
