Variety is increasingly seeping into Aryna Sabalenka’s famously powerful game. This adaptability is a key reason she ascended to the No. 1 position in the PIF WTA Rankings.
These subtle but increasingly significant additions – particularly, coming to the net more often and hitting drop shots with greater frequency – were evident in her play, such as her second-round match against qualifier Anna Blinkova at the Mutua Madrid Open.
“I think maybe on clay it’s a bit easier because the game overall is a bit slower,” Sabalenka said. “You have extra time.”
However, a contradictory thought occurred to her.
“I don’t know, at the same time it’s easier and harder because I have more time and I have more options in my head,” Sabalenka said, laughing, “and sometimes I get confused.”
Leading the rankings by a significant margin, Sabalenka is clearly one of the WTA Tour’s top players currently. Yet, she is willing to admit she hasn’t completely mastered integrating diversity into an approach that once relied almost exclusively on brute force.
“It’s a learning process and I’m not afraid to make mistakes,” Sabalenka said. “I think with time I will learn how to make the right decisions. It’s going to benefit my game. I think on the clay court, it’s like a good practice with those shots.
“You just have to make sure you pick the right one at the right moment.”
Moving Forward
Last fall, Sabalenka’s coach Anton Dubrov spoke about the ongoing search for new ways to improve her game.
“We’re trying,” he said, “to find somewhere we can be better.”
It`s been a continuous effort.
Two years ago, double faults cast a huge shadow over Sabalenka’s season. She recorded a WTA Tour-high 428 in 2022. Sabalenka added biomechanic specialist Gavin MacMillan to her team, and the problem was significantly reduced. In 2023, she showed remarkable improvement. This coincided with Sabalenka winning her first Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne and three of the past five majors played on hard courts.
And now, the current initiative is moving forward, literally.
Dubrov has heard all the suggestions and has developed a clever response.
“Everyone can say, ‘Oh, yeah, she’s got to finish on the net,’ ” Dubrov said. “That’s good advice, like, ‘Don’t do double faults.’ That’s also great advice.”
Far easier said than done.
“It’s got to be at the right time,” Dubrov said. “What is the structure of the point? Within your mind, you have to finish the point at net.”
Statistics heading into the clay season showed a steady increase in Sabalenka’s net approaches. Her coach acknowledged this significant jump.
While 2025 statistics are still early, in 2024, only a few players had more successful approaches to the net. Other players known for consistently moving forward and winning points at net include Elena Rybakina, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jasmine Paolini, and Coco Gauff.
Variety Amplifies Power
This trend of moving forward is welcomed by Martina Navratilova. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion pioneered aggressive net play in women’s tennis. One of her frequent points is when players with power don’t take advantage and end points more quickly at net. She has previously mentioned Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka – the two top-ranked players – in this context.
How important is it that Sabalenka has added this tool to her game?
“It’s huge,” Navratilova said, “because the margins are so small. By not moving forward you’re allowing the other player to get back into the rally. And then you have to start over. You are improving the odds of winning the point by moving forward and hitting the right shot — and, therefore, improving your odds of winning the match. Every little bit helps.”
“Whether you make the shot or not – you’re trying. But moving forward or not, that’s a choice. Sabalenka’s volley has gotten better. She’s got more variety. It’s great to have that much power, but when you add variety to it – that power pays off even more.”
Jessica Pegula, who has faced Sabalenka, has noticed the change as well.
“She’s moving a lot better, and I think being a little bit more creative on court,” Pegula said. “So all of a sudden, it’s not just her power, it’s a lot of these other things that she’s doing better that maybe used to be weaknesses. So I think she’s just all around has stepped up a lot of things.”
Like Sabalenka, Caroline Garcia is a power player who plays with a sometimes startling degree of aggression. She believes that advancements in fitness give today’s player the best court coverage the game has ever seen. Garcia said that the weight of shot from powerful players like Sabalenka and herself often leads to shorter balls coming back – which creates the opening to close at net.
“It’s quite useful to go to the net because you are winning a lot of time on your opponent,” Garcia said. “And sometimes it’s a little bit easier because the ball will be a little higher to the net, so it’s easier to finish. Rather than when you have to let it bounce – and then the ball goes slowly again and you have to use the power and your risk gets a little bit more.”
“So it’s always quite a good way to finish the point.”
Expect to see this strategy utilized even more in the future.
“It’s still in process,” Dubrov said. “I would say like 50, 60 percent. It’s not there yet. But if you can add, say five percent [more approaches] every half year, it’s huge.”
No Mere Drop in the Bucket
After winning a title last year, Sabalenka talked about her evolving game.
“I improved a lot,” Sabalenka said. “I can come to the net and I can finish point and then I can use my touch. I got some variation in my pocket. I just kept telling myself that if you’re not going to be able to hit the ball or slice, hit drop shot, come to the net.”
“I was just reminding myself that I have a lot of weapons, not only hitting the ball.”
In practice, Sabalenka said, she could execute the drop shot. The issue was incorporating it effectively into matches. Last year, playing against Elina Svitolina – already feeling the effects of an injury – she reached for it out of desperation.
“The only option for me was to finish the point as soon as possible,” Sabalenka said. “I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to go for the drop shots.’ I think the best training is training on the match. After that match I was like, ‘Oh, actually it’s working, probably we have to work on that shot more often.’”
“Five years ago if someone will tell me I will finally learn how to do this shot, I’ll be like laughing. I don’t have touch. I’m so bad at it. Now I have this shot in my pocket.”
The element of surprise can be a game-changer in any sport, particularly at the elite level. In tennis, mixing up shots keeps opponents guessing. So when Sabalenka’s powerful groundstrokes push opponents six or seven feet behind the baseline, she now has another option.
“When I see the opponent is really way far behind,” Sabalenka said, “I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll just make them move.’ I’m really happy that finally, finally I learned this shot.”
“I kind of have control, which is crazy to say, to be honest. Yeah, that’s just good to have, isn’t it for me? For me, not for my opponent.”
