Aryna Sabalenka is making impressive steps in Wuhan. However, that might not save her from her friend’s wrath. In a candid conversation, the Belarusian dived deeper into defeating her “emotional” friend, Yulia Putintseva. As she unfolded her imagination about Putintseva’s reaction to it, she shed light on the candid chemistry she enjoys with her Kazakh friend.

Sabalenka defeated her friend Yulia Putintseva in Wuhan in the Round of 16. After her victory, she was asked about her feelings about playing against her friends on the court, especially when she defeats them. In the 2019 US Open, Putintseva defeated Sabalenka in the third round for the first time. This is when she revealed her growing bond with the Belarusian. “We started talking to each other a little bit more at the beginning of this year. She’s pretty funny, has a good sense of humor, and is a nice girl. And it’s nice to talk to someone about something other than tennis,” said Putintseva. In that interview, Putintseva mentioned asking Sabalenka for dinner, to which the WTA number two responded to wait until their match. She also revealed making a deal with her about the winner paying the bills. Now following Sabalenka’s tradition, it seems their tradition is still being continued.

“Probably she’s not going to invite me for her really great dinner. She’s really good in cooking. Yeah, it’s tough. She’s making delicious. Probably I’ll never try her stuff again. Or she’ll invite me and she’ll poison my meal. We’ll see. I hope no (smiling),” Sabalenka said when the journalist added how much Putintseva liked the Belarusian that she didn’t mind losing against her by 6-Love. Sabalemnka’s response highlighted the Kazakh player’s great cooking skills at the time while mentioning how the scoreboard might impact her. However, the WTA number two’s answer had sarcasm behind it, which showed how strong her friendship was with Yulia Putintseva.

Mentioning “we both are really emotional people” Sabalenka revealed how she managed to win the round against her friend. Despite a sluggish start to the match, the Belarusian offered a good fight, showing that she was not ready to leave Wuhan that soon.

Aryna Sabalenka tells how she reminded herself to “keep fighting”

Sabalenka might have defeated Putintseva by 1-6, 6-4, and 6-0 but the match wasn’t smooth for her victory at all. She faced challenges against a tough opponent and decoded her way to success. In her interview with the WTA, Sabalenka mentioned, “In the first set, seems like whatever she would do would play well for her. I was struggling with strings. I was all over the place. I’m really glad that I was able to put myself together in the second set and things clicked.” The Belarusian managed to gather her concentration and offered a great fight to her strong opponent.

“In that game I was just trying to cool myself down and just to remind myself to keep trying, keep fighting, You have to work for it, you have to run, you have to play the point, build the point, find the right shot, then go for it, not rush things. I was just having that conversation in my head all the time,” revealed the WTA number two. Her statement expressed her indomitable spirit that fuelled her hunger to win the match.

Aryna Sabalenka is on her next goal to become the WTA number one after two gorgeous Grand Slam victories this season. Given her hard work and resilience for the sport, this day isn’t far behind for the Belarusian. Do you think she can make it?