MELBOURNE – Aryna Sabalenka won a second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Jan 27 by marrying her undoubted tennis prowess with a more relaxed mentality and the discipline to stick with her strategy.

Following her breakthrough at Melbourne Park in 2023 to clinch a first Slam, the powerful 25-year-old Belarusian again demonstrated she has what it takes to come out on top, beating Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2.

The emphatic win removed her fear of being a one-hit wonder – a fate that has befallen many of her contemporaries since the dominant era of Serena Williams.

In doing so, she also became the first female player to mount a successful title defence at Melbourne Park since compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013.

“I think my mindset is that I’m not getting crazy on court, I’m not rushing things,” said the world No. 2. “You know, I’m just playing point by point, and fighting for every point without over-thinking about my dreams, about what I want to do, about how many Slams I want to win and all that stuff.

“I was able to separate myself from that kind of mentality and just start focusing on myself and focusing on things I can improve... and what I actually have to do to win every match I play.”

Last season’s Melbourne breakthrough, which she followed up by making the semi-finals at the French Open and at Wimbledon before reaching the final of the US Open, is in stark contrast with her performance two years ago.

At the 2022 Australian Open, Sabalenka’s serve was in pieces and she was having to scrape through fraught battles, as her fragile emotions were laid painfully bare before a fourth-round exit.

The dramatic change has been a reward for hard work with her coaches and a sports psychologist, which has given her a zen-like peace while she has lost none of her fierce competitive instincts.

“A big part is just seeing how, regardless of how she’s feeling or what’s happening, she’s having more and more discipline to stick with what the plan is, the strategy,” said her fitness trainer Jason Stacy ahead of the final. “She’s trusting herself and understanding what she’s doing a bit better.

“I think seeing that, no matter how the match is going...

“She’s just having the discipline just to be grounded where she is in the moment and just do the next step.”

The belief in that strategy allows Sabalenka to dig herself out of sticky situations, not that she faced many over the past two weeks during a dominant run to the title.

Wearing a striking red dress on the blue courts, she did not drop a single set and was only once taken to a tiebreak, by US Open champion Coco Gauff in the semi-finals.

She has attributed her consistency over the past year to being “more mature, older, whatever you want to call it”.

The Belarusian, who has been locked in a battle with Iga Swiatek for the world No. 1 slot, feels so in control now that she has dispensed with her sports psychologist.

“When you’re working with a psychologist... at some point you start expecting somebody to help you. You’re not fixing your problems by yourself,” she said.

“I just decided I need to figure out by myself how to start to control myself better.

“And I think that decision was the biggest decision for me and I started taking responsibility for everything I’m doing... it’s really helped me to become more controlled on court.” AFP