Sabalenka Confident Ahead Of Roland-Garros Opener
Hope
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka says she is fully fit and mentally prepared ahead of her opening match at the French Open despite enduring a difficult clay-court season.
Sabalenka will begin her campaign against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Sunday as she chases a first Roland-Garros title.
The Belarusian has struggled for consistency during the clay swing, failing to reach a semi-final in her warm-up tournaments. She exited the Madrid Open at the quarter-final stage after losing to Hailey Baptiste before suffering a second-round defeat to Sorana Cirstea in Rome.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Sabalenka said her main focus had been recovery and regaining physical fitness.
“I struggled in the beginning of the clay-court swing physically, but right now I feel 100%,” she said. “We focused on recovery and made sure that I’m healed everywhere and ready to go.”
Despite playing only six clay-court matches before the year’s second Grand Slam, Sabalenka believes her experience at the highest level gives her confidence heading into the tournament.
The two-time US Open and Australian Open champion reached last year’s French Open final, where she lost to Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka also admitted that controlling her emotions has been a major challenge during the clay season.
“My emotions were destroying my game and my level was dropping dramatically when I started overreacting,” she said.
She added that managing emotions and remaining focused had become an important part of her development over recent years.
Sabalenka holds a strong record against Bouzas Maneiro after winning both of their previous meetings last season.
