Aryna Sabalenka is fueled by her rivalry with Iga Swiatek! The second-ranked player in the world of tennis, however, publicly acknowledges their friendly rivalry while also highlighting its advantages. As they prepare to meet each other at the French Open after two straight WTA final face-offs, Sabalenka talks about how Swiatek’s skill has helped her with her faults.

In a recent conversation, she opened up about how there are a lot of things that have gotten better and improved her serves, just because of the four-time Grand Slam champion. She stated, “She definitely motivates me a lot to get better, and I think I improve so many things just because of her. She kind of like pointed out the things I wasn’t good at, and motivated me to get better at.” 

The 26-year-old made a big impression in May by making it to the finals in Madrid and Rome, but Swiatek got in the way and snatched the winning trophy. In their head-to-head battle, this increased the Poles’ advantage to 8-3. However, after facing two defeats in the final against the same opponent, World Number 2 is ready to give her an unbreakable percentage to achieve a victory against them.

Furthermore, she also talked about the budding rivalry, and stated, “I think it’s just amazing what we are doing, and I really hope we can keep doing the same or even better, meaning meeting in the last stages of the tournament.” 

Not only that but in the same conversation, she also talked about a goal that she has in mind for the French Open itself. The Australian Open champion said, “I’m focusing on myself, not own goals, but on things I have to improve and get better at so I have a chance against Iga on the clay court and especially here at Roland-Garros. She’s achieved incredible results here. I take it as a challenge, and I like to accept tough challenges.” 

Moreover, Swiatek repaid it forward by saying that playing against the two-time Grand Slam Champion is “always a challenge” and emphasizing how much of a great influence she has on making the locker room seem welcoming. However, at the same time, the 26-year-old tennis star also talked about how it is not just about Iga Swiatek in the upcoming grand slam.

Aryna Sabalenka believes that “Cori and Elena” give her that “extra motivation”

The Italian Open finalist spoke candidly with the media during the day, expressing her respect for their rivalry and their mutual growth as players, but also her belief that Coco Gauff, ranked third in the world, and Elena Rybalina, ranked fourth, can also compete for the same objective.

She said, “The duel we are creating is fantastic, but we are not alone since Cori and Elena also fight for the maximum goals. Rivalries like this help me to be better every day and give me extra motivation. I hope we continue to find each other in the last rounds of big tournaments.” The 26-year-old tennis star is getting ready to exact revenge on the Pole as the French Open draws near, which might lead to an interesting turn in their rivalry off the court.