A former WTA World number one made a decision five years ago she may be wishing she could take back.
The 2024 season has come to an end and there have been some changes to the rankings on the women’s tour compared to a year ago.
Aryna Sabalenka is the latest year-end number one, leapfrogging Iga Swiatek after winning the Wuhan Open title.
The Belarusian has had an excellent year, but former player Dinara Safina, who also reached the summit of women’s tennis, could have been in her corner.
Dinara Safina of Russia gets set to return serve against Vera Zvonareva of Russia during the Sony Ericsson Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on Ma…
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Could Dinara Safina have been Aryna Sabalenka’s coach?
Dinara Safina played professional tennis from 2000 to 2011, before officially retiring in 2014.
She has kept a close eye on the WTA Tour in the years since her retirement, and told media outlet Championat that she was offered a chance to step into coaching.
The player she could have coached was Sabalenka back in 2019, when she was still some way off becoming the player she is today.
However, the Russian decided to turn down the opportunity, which came just before the 2019 US Open. “[It was] about full-fledged cooperation. We talked about Aryna in 2019, right before the US Open,” Safina explained.
“She had just finished working with Dmitry Tursunov. And her agent called me and said that there was such an option, but she had to fly out immediately and start preparing for the US Open.
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“I said that I couldn’t do that. But I understand Aryna, because I behaved the same way when I was a player. I also said: ‘I need a coach tomorrow!’
Aryna Sabalenka warms up with coach Anton Dubrov before playing against Madison Keys of the United States in the fourth round on Day 10 of the Chin…
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Who is coaching Aryna Sabalenka now?
Sabalenka is being coached by Anton Dubrov, who was initially her hitting partner.
Her team also includes fitness trainer and martial arts expert Jason Stacy, in addition to her new hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski.
They have guided the 26-year-old to plenty of success this year, which includes winning her second and third Grand Slam titles.
Following her US Open title win, Dubrov praised Sabalenka for the victory and how she has improved since they have been working together.
“Her ability to reboot, to better return to the match and regain focus when she wants to throw out this aggression, when she wants to freak out and scream, she has learned to better direct this into the fight, into motivation. This is the biggest improvement,” he said back in October.
“At some point, focus and attention fall, but you catch yourself and the ability to quickly get back on track [leads to] dominance.”
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