Being the favorite to lift the 2025 Australian Open title for a third consecutive time, Aryna Sabalenka fell in a heartbreaking final to Madison Keys that many believe affected her mindset over the next few weeks.
The World No.1 looked set to complete a hattrick of titles in Melbourne, as she faced the 19th-seeded Keys in the final. However, the American played arguably the best tennis of her career to record a three-set victory, winning her maiden Grand Slam trophy in the process.
Middle East run ends in disappointment for the Belarusian
Following her loss in Melbourne, Sabalenka looked to bounce back at the Qatar Open. However, she suffered a shocking opening round loss to Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, who rallied back from a first set deficit to prevail after a third set tiebreak.
Sabalenka would attempt to right the ship at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships the following week, and began with an easy win over Veronika Kudermetova. However, the World No.1 would be thoroughly outplayed by Clara Tauson, as the rising Danish star blew past the top seed in a 6-3 6-2 victory.
With the Middle East behind her, Sabalenka is currently competing at the Indian Wells WTA 1000 event. Following a tough victory over the big-hitting McCartney Kessler, Sabalenka was asked if she had gotten over the loss in Melbourne.
"Yeah, I'd say that the final in Australia was really heartbroken," said Sabalenka. "It was very difficult to recover after that one, and Middle East I was kind of like, in my thoughts, I was trying to understand. I was always thinking about that match. It was, like, probably my mistake, but I think I had to go through, I had to realize couple of things. I had to kind of like step back and start everything over again. Right now, I'm definitely feeling better and that final was in the past. Just good experience, great lesson, and hopefully it will never happen again."
