"Aryna Sabalenka was genuinely terrified" - Belarusian's coach reveals what made her almost quit tennis before Slam glory

Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam at the 2023 Australian Open. But little does anyone know about the lead-up to that. Just like several people across the world, Sabalenka was really terrified of getting back on the court.

Back then, she was not the champion player she is now, and thus, she had her doubts about whether she would be able to retain her tennis skills after the shutdown of sports for the better part of two years.

On Friday, Sabalenka's coach, Jason Stacy, joined Dr. Kristen Holmes on her show to discuss the Belarusian's doubts about herself just after the pandemic. The high-performance coach revealed the real obstacle the Belarusian faced before she emerged as a Grand Slam champion in Melbourne.

"After COVID, when we first went back to the US Open, there was this moment where she genuinely was terrified that she was going to not know how to play tennis ever again, like she was done," Stacy said. "Imagine that. You're like, 'What? You're telling us this now?'

"But you could see it was a real thing inside of her. I mean, she's obviously worked through that and managed it, but there's still this part of her where, so the biggest obstacle really was her understanding that, okay, for us to progress, for her to grow and to mature and to become what she wants to become, she has to open up a little bit. Even if it's just a tiny little crack. You know, like you might say, Brené Brown, vulnerability. You know? Because that's what it really was."

Stacy revealed that he asked Sabalenka to be "vulnerable" and open up a "tiny bit" because otherwise she was "uncoachable."

"It was just about her allowing herself to face those deeper fears that we all have," Stacy added. "Not all this stuff about, you know, everyone talks about discomfort and fighting and grinding and all that. That’s just a bunch of superficial crap. Everyone knows there are things we're all lying to ourselves about. It’s like, no, no, you need to just face those real fears. And there have been a few moments that we've done that with her, and she’s done that.

"But that was the biggest challenge, the obstacle, getting her to create that environment where it was safe enough for her to trust that she could open that door a little bit."

Aryna Sabalenka's breakout year came in 2023

After laying the groundwork in 2021 and 2022, Aryna Sabalenka finally reached the top of the tennis world in 2023. She began the season, winning her first Australian Open and reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career.

That year, she reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slams, becoming the first woman to do so since Serena Williams in 2016.

After that, it was only upwards for the Belarusian. In 2024, she reclaimed the No. 1 ranking and was honored as WTA Player of the Year. She defended her Australian Open title in 2024 and won her third Grand Slam at the 2024 US Open.

Once again, in 2025, she finished as No. 1, while also defending her US Open title.