By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Photo credit: Wuhan Open/CVG
Aryna Sabalenka credits training with Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic for helping her defend her US Open crown.
Storming through her 19th straight tiebreaker win, Sabalenka stopped Amanda Aminisova 6-3, 7-6(3) to successfully defend her US Open championship and capture her fourth Grand Slam crown last month.
World No. 1 Sabalenka scored a triple milestone posting her 100th major match win, becoming the first woman since the legendary Serena Williams (2012-2014) to successfully defend the US Open and collecting a Grand Slam record $5 Million champion’s check.
After heartbreaking major losses to Americans Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final and Anisimova in the Wimbledon semifinals, Sabalenka spent time talking and training with Novak Djokovic.
In a wide-ranging interview with AFP at the Prudential NextGen Aces event in Hong Hong this week, Sabalenka credited Djokovic’s advice with helping her defend Flushing Meadows. Sabalenka said high-intensity training with Djokovic prepared her for facing top contenders at the US Open.
“[Novak is] a great guy and he’s very open. You can ask anything and he can give you advice,” Sabalenka said of Djokovic.
“And he’s such an open guy and I love practicing with him because for me it’s such high-intensity training. It just helps me physically and even mentally to get better. And then when I play against girls, I’m not getting tired physically because I practice with Novak.”
Anisimova toppled Sabalenka at Wimbledon and the top-ranked Belarusian said a discussion with Djokovic at SW19 on how to mentally prepare for major matches helped her in Flushing Meadows.
“At Wimbledon I spoke to Novak. I just wanted to know how he was preparing himself for those big matches: what was the focus and what was his mindset going into the match,” Sabalenka told AFP.
“So we talked for an hour probably, but with Novak you always can spend more than that talking and asking for advice.”
Sabalenka surprised some by hiring former doubles No. 1 Max Mirnyi, nicknamed the Beast of Belarus for his swarming net play, to join her coaching staff working with primary coach Anton Dubrov.
Yet, it turned out to be a shrewd Sabalenka hire.
Working with Dubrov and Mirnyi, Sabalenka has sharpened her transition game and net play. She says applying her transition skills and imposing her net play is a primary goal going forward.
“I would love to approach the net much more. And I need to spend time working on that and understanding the game on the net in singles,” Sabalenka said.
“So, so many things I can get better at—shots, strokes, like literally everything.”
