Aryna Sabalenka in crisis, Courier brings up Jannik Sinner

Aryna Sabalenka’s defeat at Roland Garros caused an uproar, almost like that of Jannik Sinner’s knockout in the opening rounds of the men’s tournament. After the match the Belarusian champion appeared discouraged, and confessed that she felt like “quitting tennis.” Former U.S. champion Jim Courier at the microphones of TNT Sports sent advice to the world number one, citing Sinner’s example precisely.

“All these moments are opportunities for growth, if we want to see them in a positive way. They are opportunities to learn more about yourself and to recover. I tell Aryna to look at Sinner. Jannik last year lost in the final after having three match points, but then he bounced right back, got back to work on grass and became Wimbledon champion for the first time.”

“I’m sure a lot of Sabalenka’s reactions during the match were related to the wound left by last year’s final, where there was a very strong wind and she couldn’t handle that moment against Coco Gauff. It must have been incredibly frustrating for her to see the roof close in after one set of the men’s quarterfinal that followed her match.”

In the press conference, Sabalenka had tried to analyze her own collapse after finding herself ahead 6-3, 5-3 against Russia’s Diana Shnaider, before resoundingly losing 10 consecutive games: “I have no thoughts, no emotions, I just want to stop playing tennis right now, but we will see in a few days. I hope to regain the right mental focus after what happened.” The Belarusian also pointed her finger at the environmental conditions, “I don’t understand why they kept the roof open with that very strong wind. But how can I complain if for almost the whole match everything went well, and then suddenly it got out of hand?”