Aryna Sabalenka Reveals Best Advice She’s Received from Good Friend Novak Djokovic

Aryna Sabalenka is currently in Riyadh, bidding to win her first WTA Finals title. Ahead of the tournament, Sabalenka talked about what she has learned from Novak Djokovic.

The WTA World No.1 and the former ATP World No.1 share a good friendship off the court and even went on a double date with Georgios Frangulis and Jelena Djokovic in Athens. A lot of times, they were seen together practicing during the combined ATP and WTA events, and even engaged in fun challenges, including the dance competition at the French Open.

In Riyadh, at the pre-tournament press conference, when Sabalenka was asked about her friendship with the 24-time Grand Slam champion, she went on to talk about the best lessons she has learned from the Serbian great.

Now, to stay settled and to look at everything as if you’re looking from the outside on the situation on the court, off the court. Just to, like, be able to sit back and look at everything. Kind of like it’s not you looking, it’s someone else looking at your situation. I think that’s the best lesson that you could take from Novak.

Djokovic was last seen in action in official events at the Shanghai Masters, where his run was ended by eventual champion Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals. He then played the Six Kings Slam, where once again, he suffered defeat at the hands of eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, while in the third-place match, injury problems forced him to give a walkover to Taylor Fritz.

The first edition of the Hellenic Championship, an ATP 250 event, is underway in Athens. Djokovic will lock horns with Alejandro Tabilo to start his bid for his second title of the season. It’s uncertain whether Djokovic will be playing the ATP Finals. Last year, he chose not to defend the title.

The lone title that he won this year is the Geneva Open by defeating Hubert Hurkacz. He is not playing the ongoing Paris Masters, where in 2023, he won the last Masters 1000 title of his career.

Aryna Sabalenka wins the year-end No.1 trophy

It is confirmed that Aryna Sabalenka won’t lose her No.1 rankings even if she ends up losing the WTA Finals. She has 9870 points in the live rankings, while second-placed Iga Swiatek has 8195.