Aryna Sabalenka was all laughs during her Australian Open 2024 victory speech, but that did not make her forget to thank her team for support throughout the tournament. TheBelarusian lauded the team for keeping up with her competitiveness post the Brisbane international final earlier in January.
“Without you, I wouldn’t be able to achieve so much in the sport… I put some pressure on them after the Brisbane final. We did better in this one,” said Sabalenka about her team after the Australian Open win.
The 25-year-old Belarusian displayed dominance over her Chinese Number 12 opponent, Qinwen Zheng, with a 6-3, 6-2 scoreline, wrapping up the biggest stage of the tournament in an easy hour. The number 2 seed, Sabalenka, recorded a historic feat of becoming the first woman in a decade to win back-to-back Australian Open titles, with Victoria Azarenka being the last to achieve the same back in 2012-13.
Sabalenka achieved her third straight appearance in a hard-court Grand Slam final, overcoming a setback against Coco Gauff in the US Open final by avenging the loss with a win over Gauff in the Melbourne semifinals.
She dominated the entire fortnight in Melbourne, winning without dropping a single set. Sabalenka’s impressive performance included winning 28 of her last 29 sets, extending back to her 2023 title run. This milestone made her the fifth player in history to secure the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup without dropping a set, following in the footsteps of Ash Barty in 2022, Serena Williams in 2017, Maria Sharapova in 2008, and Lindsay Davenport in 2000.
In her victory speech, the player took a moment to express gratitude to her parents, marking a rare instance where she acknowledged them. The significance deepened as Sabalenka, who lost her father, Sergey Sabalneka, in 2019, shared a truly inspiring victory story.
“I never speak about my family on these winning speeches but i have to now…I want to thank you all… Everything I’m doing, I’m doing for you,” Sabalenka said about her parents.
The player also shared words of respect to her opponent, lauding her for her effort and the brilliant performance she had shown throughout the tournament. Sabalenka hailed Zheng to appear in many more Grand Slam Finals due to her abilities.
“I want to congratulate Qinwen on an incredible couple of weeks. I know this feeling is tough to lose in the finals. You’re such an incredible player, you’re such a young girl. You’re gonna be in many more finals. You’re gonna get it. I want to say congrats to you & your team on the amazing job you guys have done.”
