Aryna Sabalenka is one of the most popular tennis players and one of the top in the world ranking nowadays. She is a former world number one in both singles and doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association.
Today we are going to present you 25 facts about Aryna Sabalenka, some of which you probably don’t know.
No 1 – Number of titles
Aryna Sabalenka has won two Grand Slam singles titles, at the 2023 and 2024 Australian Opens, and two doubles titles, at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, both partnering Elise Mertens. In total, she has won 20 career WTA titles – 14 in singles and 6 in doubles.
No 2 – Birth and Childhood
But let’s turn back time and follow her career growth. Aryna Sabalenka is a Belarusian tennis player, born on May 5, 1998, in Minsk, Belarus. Her father, Sergey Sabalenka, was a former hockey player, which influenced her athletic upbringing. She started playing tennis at the age of six after her father took her to a tennis court by chance.
No 3 – Early years
Aryna Sabalenka turned professional in 2015 but was relatively unknown until 2017, when together with Aliaksandra Sasnovich they led the Belarus Fed Cup team to a runner-up finish, despite both of them being ranked outside the top 75 at the time.
No 4 – First titles
Aryna Sabalenka won her first WTA title in 2018 at the WTA 500 Connecticut Open. However, the same season she played the final at the Rothesay International Eastbourne and SAMSUNG Open presented by corner in Lugano. After triumphing in Connecticut she won the Masters tournament in Wuhan. Thus, she broke into the Top 20 of the WTA rankings.
No 5 – Aryna “The Tiger” Sabalenka
Her aggressive playing style, characterized by powerful groundstrokes and a strong serve, has earned her the nickname “The Tiger”. However, often he style of play is accumulating high numbers of winners and unforced errors. She also has a tattoo of a tiger on her left arm, symbolizing her playing style.
No 6 – First breakthrough
Aryna Sabalenka made her first breakthrough in the world of tennis in 2021, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon. She also made it to the semifinals of the US Open in 2021. This paved the way for her two Grand Slam titles in 2023 and 2024 at the Australian Open.
No 7 – Masters titles
The Belarusian tennis player has also won five Masters tournaments, triumphing at the Madrid Open in 2021 and 2023, Qatar TotalEnergies Open in 2020, as well as Wuhan Open in 2018 and 2019.
No 8 – Doubles tennis career
While Sabalenka is known for her singles play, she has also found significant success in doubles, showcasing her versatility on the court. She won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the US Open in 2019, partnering with Elise Mertens. Two years later, in 2021, she triumphed again with Elise Mertens at the Australian Open.
No 9 – WTA number one
Aryna Sabalenka has been at the top of the WTA singles rankings for 8 weeks, as well as 6 weeks in the doubles ranking.
No 10 – Prize money earned
Aryna Sabalenka has earned more than 24 million dollars from prize money from her tennis career so far. This ranks her in 16th position in All-time Career Prize Money Leaders, but far behind the leaders Serene and Venus Williams with 94 and 42 million USD, respectively. But she is above players like Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, and Ana Ivanovic.
No 11 – Best friends
Friendship among tennis players is well known. One of Aryna Sabalenka’s best friends is the Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa. She is also close with Grigor Dimitrov, as they posted a photo of “Traveling with style” after sharing a plane to Miami.
No 12 – Forbes
Aryna Sabalenka has been featured in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for her contributions to sports.
No 13 – Personal life and datings
Aryna Sabalenka’s personal life is rich. In 2021, she started dating publicly Belarusian professional ice hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, who fell from his balcony in 2024, which was described as “apparent suicide” by the local Police investigation. A few days after the incident, Sabalenka made her first public statement on the incident, saying that she was heartbroken even as she revealed that she and Koltsov were no longer together at the time of his death.
No 14 – Current boyfriend
Currently, Aryna Sabalenka is dating Haas F1 team sponsor and the CEO of Acai brand Oakberry, Georgios Frangulis. Both appeared in photos in May 2024.
No 15 – Hobbies
Out of the tennis and high life, Aryna Sabalenka enjoys playing video games in her free time, with “Call of Duty” being one of her favorites. Also, she likes animals and pets. She has a pet dog named Zeus.
Video of 15 facts about Aryna Sabalenka
