Last year, Aryna Sabalenka explained why she had walked away from her sports psychologist. Now, with the WTA Finals days away, she has decided she needs one again. The Belarusian revealed the change at media day in Indian Wells on Friday, where she was asked about the work she has done since her form dipped in the autumn.

“I’m trying to stop overthinking things so much, trust my instincts more and leave some issues behind. It’s been important work,” Sabalenka said. “I’ve started working with a psychologist again, and I feel that at this moment I really needed someone to help me find myself again.”

Sabalenka’s Asian swing ended early, with an early exit in Beijing and then a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) defeat to Ann Li in her Wuhan opener. While trailing 4-1 in the decider, she called for a medical time-out and then saved five match points before falling short in the tiebreak. 

“The first thing I tried to do after Wuhan was get my body back,” she said. “I think we did the right things and now I feel better physically. After that, I’ve worked a lot, both on the physical side and the mental side.” She added that the season had taught her “exactly how to fully reset,” and how to leave things behind and move on.

In 2025, speaking on the Jay Shetty Podcast, Sabalenka revealed she had worked with a sports psychologist for four or five years early in her career before ending the partnership. The 28-year-old explained that she had become too dependent on it. 

“I was expecting her to fix my problems, my emotions, and I was repeating the same mistake over and over again,” she said at the time. 

Sabalenka took the responsibility herself, which helped her understand her emotions better. However, she never ruled out the option of going back, and in the time of need, she had decided to return for her own well-being. 

There are plenty of top-tier players who seek help to strengthen the mental side of the game. Iga Swiatek is famously known to travel with her psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, since 2019 and has openly advocated for mental health and has encouraged other players to seek the same support. On the ATP tour, Carlos Alcaraz has worked with psychologist Isabekl Balaguer since 2020, whenever he feels the need to talk things through. 

Jannik Sinner has long credited Riccardo Ceccarelli of Formula Medicine, who works on his mental training and joined him at Wimbledon this year. One of the most mentally strong players in the sport, Novak Djokovic had also leaned on mental coach Pepe Imaz earlier in his career. 

At the very top of the sport, outside help is the norm rather than a sign of trouble. The timing of Sabalenka’s decision is no accident, given where she is about to play.

Sabalenka returns to Indian Wells

Indian Wells is where Sabalenka’s 2026 hit its peak. She saved a championship point to beat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in the final in March, then won Miami to become just the fifth woman to complete the Sunshine Double. That performance helped her to have a solid season, in addition to her Brisbane victory in January. She is 47-11, the best winning percentage on tour this year, and she reached both the Australian Open and US Open finals. 

After reaching great heights earlier in the year, what followed was not expected. The Belarusian has not won a title since Miami, and both of her Grand Slam finals ended in defeat to Rybakina. The loss in New York cost her the world No. 1 ranking after 99 consecutive weeks at the top, the sixth-longest streak in WTA history. This will also be her first season without a major since 2022. 

Sabalenka did not state the causes or triggers, but the season has given her plenty of reasons, which has been a lot to process. Being so close in two Grand Slam finals and losing both to the same opponent would test anyone. There have also been surprise defeats to lower-ranked players. 

She lost a final-set tiebreak to then world No. 32 Hailey Baptiste in the Madrid quarter-final. Sorana Cirstea, ranked 27th, knocked her out in Rome. Diana Shnaider, ranked 23rd, won the deciding set 6-0 in their Roland Garros quarterfinal. Naomi Osaka ended her run of 14 consecutive major quarterfinals at Wimbledon, and Sara Bejlek, ranked 35th, beat her in straight sets in Cincinnati, and the latest to add to the list was the Ann Li defeat in Wuhan. 

The noise off the court has not helped either. Her US Open final defeat did not just generate a penalty but also a wave of criticism. People even criticized her for attending brand events before the start of the tournament in New York, questioning her commitment to the sport. 

Sabalenka has spoken before about the volume of hateful messages she receives on social media, admitting she has had to learn to deal with a lot of hate. As a whole, it’s no wonder she chose to have someone on her side to help her turn things around. Despite all of that, she sounded happy to be back in the desert. 

“I have so many wonderful memories of this place, especially from this season: I got my dog here, I got engaged and I won the title,” she said. “I hope Indian Wells continues to be a perfect place for me.” 

The WTA Finals is the one big title missing from her collection. This is her sixth appearance, and she holds a 12-9 record at the event. She reached the final in 2022, losing to Caroline Garcia, and again last year in Riyadh, where Rybakina beat her. 

Sabalenka is in a group with Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova, and she opens against Muchova on Monday, November 9.

Muchova leads their head-to-head 3-2 and famously saved a match point to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 Roland Garros semifinals, although Sabalenka won their most recent meeting 6-3, 6-4 in Brisbane in January. 

“She has so much variety in her game, she comes to the net and she has great touch,” Sabalenka said. “We’ve had many great battles, very tough and close matches.” 

She has hit the reset button, but will that result in a maiden WTA Finals title?