"I realized that nobody than me will help" - Aryna Sabalenka reveals she's stopped working with her sports psychologist
Aryna Sabalenka recently revealed that she has stopped consulting her sports psychologist, going off the belief that no one can help her more than herself. The Belarusian reached the final of the 2023 Australian Open by cruising past 30-year-old Magda Linette 7-6(1), 6-2 in straight sets.
The 24-year-old is now on the verge of winning her maiden Grand Slam singles title. Sabalenka has already won two doubles titles, the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open. In the summit clash, the former World No. 2 will lock horns with reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
At her post-match press conference on Thursday, Sabalenka shed some light on her therapy sessions with her sports psychologist. She noted that she stopped working with her psychologist because she felt that she needed to fix her own problem.
"To be honest, I decide to stop working with a psychologist. I realized that nobody than me will help, you know?," she said.
"Yeah, on the pre-season I spoke to my psychologist saying, like, Listen, I feel like I have to deal with that by myself, because every time hoping that someone will fix my problem, it's not fixing my problem."
Aryna Sabalenka went on, adding that she's her own psychologist and she just had to take responsibilty for her own mental health.
"I just have to take this responsibility and I just have to deal with that. Yeah, I'm not working with psychologist any more. I'm my psychologist," Sabalenka added.
The 2022 US Open semifinalist further added that she talks to her team as well as family, declaring that she knows herself quite well and how to handle her own emotions.
"I talk a lot with my team. Also with my family. I think I know myself quite well. I know how to handle my emotions," she said.
"I'm not going to do something extra" - Aryna Sabalenka on dealing with pressure in big matches
Aryna Sabalenka also talked about how she deals with pressure in big matches during the press conference. The fifth seed revealed that she's not a fan of doing anything to cope with the pressure, opining that it's always okay to feel nervous in big matches.
"To be honest, I think I'm not going to do something extra. Like, I think that's okay to feel little bit nervous. It's a big tournament, big final. If you're going to start trying to do something about that, it's going to become bigger, you know? I'll just leave it like that. It's okay to feel nervous."
It is the same strategy Sabalenka plans to employ in the biggest match of her career coming up on Saturday against Elena Rybakina -- who, meanwhile, is eyeing to win her second Grand Slam title.