Last Updated on May 8, 2023
Aryna Sabalenka, born on 5th May 1998 in Minsk, Belarus, is a professional tennis player who has achieved remarkable success in both singles and doubles, climbing as high as world No. 2 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
Her journey to the top began with a chance encounter with tennis, when her father, a hockey player, stumbled upon tennis courts during a drive and introduced her to the sport. Sabalenka started training at the National Tennis Academy in Minsk in 2014, and her undeniable talent soon caught the attention of the Belarusian Tennis Federation.
In her junior career, Sabalenka had a late start on the ITF Junior Circuit, initially competing on the U14 and U16 Tennis Europe tours. Despite not participating in any high-level Grade-A and Grade-1 events or junior Grand Slam tournaments, she demonstrated her potential with a career-high ranking of No. 225. Sabalenka won her first ITF title in doubles at the lowest-level Grade-5 Alatan Tour Cup in Belarus in late 2013, and later in 2014, she claimed her first singles title at the MTV Total Junior Cup in Finland.
The Belarusian Tennis Federation, recognizing Sabalenka’s immense potential, encouraged her to focus on low-level professional events rather than junior tournaments. This decision proved fruitful, as Sabalenka began her professional career in 2012 and quickly ascended the ranks. By the end of 2016, she had won two titles at the $50k level, reached the top 200 in the world rankings, and made her Fed Cup debut.
From her early life to her successful professional career, Aryna Sabalenka’s journey highlights the importance of coaching and guidance in nurturing a player’s potential and honing their skills for success on the world stage.
Who Is Aryna Sabalenka Current Coach?
Anton Dubrov
Sabalenka has been working with Anton Dubrov for a long time. At first, he was just her sparring partner, but in the early fall of 2020, Arina decided to appoint him as her coach.
Anton Dubrov is a Belarusian tennis coach and former player. Born on June 18, 1995, he started playing tennis at the age of five. He has been coaching Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) player Aryna Sabalenka since 2020. He was a longtime member of Sabalenka’s team as her hitting partner before becoming her primary coach. Under his coaching, Sabalenka has found increasingly consistent results, winning four WTA Tour titles in the first year of his tenure and reaching world No. 2 ranking by the end of 2021.
“I made the decision, then, to work with Anton as a coach, and I think we’re doing well. I want to keep working with just him because I feel much better when I’m with someone who knows me well, and I don’t have to overthink. It really affected my focus because I ended up expending energy on other things that there wasn’t enough left over for my matches.” – said Aryna.
In the 2023 season, Sabalenka and Dubrov were able to win the Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. At the Australian Open, the Belarusian beat Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
Aryna Sabalenka’s past coaches
Dieter Kindlmann
Before the US Open 2020 Aryna started cooperating with the German Dieter Kindlmann, but they managed to stay together for only three weeks.
“Working with Dieter was difficult, mentally, for me, because it took him time to get to know me. He had thoughts about my game and how I have to work, which were different from my thoughts”, – Sabalenka explained in the interview.
Dieter Kindlmann, born on June 3, 1982, achieved his highest individual ATP ranking on July 26, 2004, when he became World number 130. His best performance at a Grand Slam was during the 2006 French Open, where he reached the main draw as a qualifier but lost in the second round.
As a coach, Kindlmann has helped several players achieve notable success. For instance, while working with Madison Keys, he helped her reach her first Grand Slam final in 2017. Additionally, his coaching stint with Elise Mertens began in July 2018, and he was hired by 3-time major champion Angelique Kerber in November 2019.
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Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov began coaching Aryna Sabalenka in June 2018, when she was the 46th-ranked player in the world. Under Tursunov’s guidance, Sabalenka played her first career WTA Premiership final – just in June 2018 in Eastbourne – and later won five singles titles: in New Haven and Wuhan in 2018, in Shenzhen, Wuhan and Zhuhai in 2019. In addition, Arina made her debut in the top 10 during this period. In January 2020, Aryna Sabalenka and Russian coach Dmitry Tursunov ended their collaboration
“It’s important for me that I was able to have success without Dmitry, because we worked together for such a long time, and I started winning with him. It was tough to make the decision to split because in the beginning, I was questioning myself and whether it was the right thing”,- said Sabalenka
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Aryna Sabalenka’s Achievements With Different Coaches
We have collected in the table the data about the trophies won by Aryna Sabalenka under the guidance of various coaches.
Coaches | Years of Cooperation | Titles |
Dmitry Tursunov | 2018 –2020 | 2019 – Shenzhen, Wuhan, Zhuhai; 2018 – New Haven, Wuhan |
Dieter Kindlmann | 2020- 2020 | – |
Anton Dubrov | 2020- | 2023 – Madrid Open, Adelaide 1, Australian Open 2021 – Australian Open (w/Mertens), 2021 – Berlin (w/Azarenka); 2020 – Ostrava (w/Mertens) |