Aryna Sabalenka admitted that she had "teary eyes" while watching Rafael Nadal's retirement video as the Belarusian tennis star used some pretty big words when describing how she felt about the Spaniard.
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On Thursday afternoon Spanish time, the 38-year-old uploaded a clip on his social media, where he announced his plans to retire following the conclusion of next month's Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. While it was very sad for the entire tennis world, the news didn't come as a surprise when taking into account everything that had happened in the last two years.
Just as Nadal's announcement came out, Sabalenka was preparing to take to the court for her quarterfinal match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan. After watching the video, the top seed made a slow start against Yulia Putintseva but recovered to beat the 35th-ranked Kazakh 1-6 6-4 6-0.
"Yeah, actually I was watching his retirement video before the match. That was a very emotional video. I mean, I didn't cry, but I had like tears in my eyes. What he achieved in this sport, it's incredible. He's an inspiration for all of us, for the next generation, for current players. He's a legend. I mean, as he said actually there, everything has the beginning and the end. We all going to be there," the 26-year-old said after the match when asked if she had heard the Nadal news.
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"I'm really happy for what he was able to achieve. He was inspiration for everyone. He's a hard worker. He definitely had like so much love to this sport. That's really cool to see. Yeah, I was inspired by him. He was my inspiration. I wish him all the best in his next chapter - I almost said capture (smiling). Yeah, he's an incredible person and I wish him all the best."
Sabalenka on facing Coco Gauff
On Friday, the three-time Grand Slam champion was back in action in Wuhan, dismantling Magdalena Frech 6-2 6-2 to reach her third semifinal at the tournament. There, she will have a very tough task as No. 4 seed Gauff is the next up for her.
When they meet on Saturday, it will be their eighth time clashing against each other as the 20-year-old leads their head-to-head 4-3. Their last two matches came at the biggest possible stage as the American beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final for her first Grand Slam title but the Belarusian got her revenge when they met in the Australian Open semifinal at the start of this season.
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It should be noted that this year's top seed has two titles in Wuhan and a lifetime 15-0 record at the tournament while last week's Beijing champion Gauff has won her last 10 matches.
"We had a lot of great, big matches, great fights. I'm really looking forward to always enjoying playing against her. I think the main thing is, once again, focus on myself, focus on my footwork, go to the net, finish the point over there. On this slow surface, you have to go there. You have to be brave enough and finish the point there. I think that's the main plan. It worked really well in our last meeting, so I'll just stick to the plan. I'll try to put as much pressure as possible on her," Sabalenka previewed.
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Sabalenka asked if she is focused on overtaking Iga Swiatek
While Swiatek is missing back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan, the Belarusian has been reducing the Pole's lead at the top and inching closer to returning to the top spot. Entering Wuhan, the Polish tennis star had just over 1,000 ranking points over Sabalenka.
But if the 26-year-old wins the Wuhan Open this week, she will come extremely close to overthrowing the 23-year-old from the top spot.
However, she insists she is not focused on that but rather trying to do her best every time she steps on the court.
"Well, I mean, as I always say, I'm not really focusing on the ranking. At the same time, of course everyone wants to be world No. 1. I know that if I'll be focusing on these goals, like yeah. It's on my goal list, of course, like everyone else's have this goal. I'm trying to focus on myself. I know that if I'll be there every match, if I will be fighting every point, if I will be able to bring my best tennis, if I'll be able to keep improving myself, keep getting better and keep pushing myself to the limits, I know that I can achieve this goal," Sabalenka explained.
