The world No. 1 arrived for her grass season with unusual candor about what the clay season cost her.
The disclosure. Speaking to the media in Berlin as she prepares to open her campaign, Aryna Sabalenka spoke openly about the emotional toll of her shock quarter-final exit at Roland Garros and the professional support she sought to process it — a rare, frank acknowledgement from a player who has spent years learning to manage her emotions on the biggest stages.
Sabalenka had entered the French Open among the favourites before a stunning collapse against Diana Shnaider, losing a run of games after holding a commanding lead. By her own account, the defeat lingered. She described needing time to recover, thinking the match over repeatedly, and turning to professional help to move past it — saying the step had helped her a great deal and that she had learned about herself in the process.
The wider point. Sabalenka’s willingness to talk about seeking support adds to a growing openness among leading players about the mental side of the sport, and she framed the experience as part of staying at the top — always searching for small improvements rather than wholesale change. Despite the Paris setback, her season remains strong, with titles already to her name in 2026 and Wimbledon, the one major still missing from her résumé, now firmly in her sights as the grass swing begins.
For Berlin, the takeaway is a No. 1 who sounds clear-eyed rather than fragile heading into a fortnight that doubles as Wimbledon preparation. How that resolve holds under match pressure on a surface where she has gone deep without yet winning a title will be one of the storylines of the week.
