By Richard Pagliaro Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Image source: Wuhan Open/CVG
Alina Sabalenka credit training Grand Slam King Novak Djokovic Help her defend her U.S. Open title.
Sabalenka wins 19th consecutive deciding game, stops Amanda Aminisova Last month, she successfully defended her US Open title 6-3, 7-6(3) and won her fourth Grand Slam title.
World No. 1 Sabalenka achieved a triple milestone, winning her 100th major tournament, becoming the first woman since the legendary Serena Williams (2012-2014) to successfully defend her U.S. Open title and receiving a record $5 million Grand Slam championship check.
After losing to American Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, Coco Gauff in the French Open final and Anisimova in the Wimbledon semifinals, Sabalenka spent a lot of time talking and training with Novak Djokovic.
in an extensive interview AFP attends Prudential NextGen Aces event in Hong Kong This week, Sabalenka praised Djokovic’s advice for helping her defend Flushing Meadows. Sabalenka said Djokovic’s intense training prepared her to face top contenders at the U.S. 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.
“He’s a very open person and I love training with him because it’s such a high-intensity training for me. It just helps me get better physically and even mentally. And then when I play against girls, I don’t feel physically tired because I’m training with Novak.”
Anisimova defeated Sabalenka at Wimbledon and the top-ranked Belarusian said discussing with Djokovic at SW19 how to mentally prepare for big matches will help her at Flushing Meadows.
“I spoke to Novak at Wimbledon. I just wanted to know how he prepares for these big matches: what is the focus of the match and what is his mentality,” Sabalenka told AFP.
“So we might have talked for an hour, but with Novak you can always spend more time talking and getting advice.”
Sabalenka Hiring former doubles No. 1 surprises some Max Mirny, nicknamed beast of belarus In recognition of his swarming net attack, she joined her coaching staff to work with head coach Anton Dubrov.
However, it turns out that Sabalenka hired a shrewd man.
Working with Dubrov and Mirnyi, Sabalenka improved her transition and net play. She said using her transition skills and developing her net game are major goals going forward.
“I would love to get more involved in tennis. I need to spend time studying this aspect and understand the singles game online,” Sabalenka said.
“So, I can be better at a lot of things — hitting, hitting, like pretty much everything.”
