'He was begging me to play': 'He was begging me to play': Aryna Sabalenka laughs off Grigor Dimitrov’s campaign to be her partner

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka confirmed that Grigor Dimitrov "begged her" to team up for the US Open mixed doubles. Sabalenka is another stellar name to join the innovative mixed doubles draw, doing so with none other than former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov.

The Belarusian is currently competing at the Berlin Ladies Open, where she debuted with a victory over Rebeka Masarova. The match began on Wednesday but was interrupted after the first set (6-2 for Sabalenka) due to weather conditions, leading to the suspension of the rest of the day's play.

Sabalenka returned to the court this Thursday, securing a hard-fought second set win, closing out the victory 6-2, 7-6(6) and advancing to the quarterfinals. Her next challenge will be against Elena Rybakina, in the 11th match of their rivalry, which the Belarusian leads 6-4.

"I didn’t really know about the mixed doubles situation"

While the three-time Grand Slam champion continues her run on grass courts, seeking the best preparation for Wimbledon, the tennis world is already buzzing about the upcoming US Open. This excitement is particularly due to the thrilling mixed doubles pairings that will participate in an unprecedented format, bringing together top singles players in the week leading up to the main tournament.

Sabalenka will be one of the stars joining the draw, which will feature almost the entire men's and women's Top 10. The Belarusian will team up with Bulgaria's Dimitrov and explained how the partnership came about: "He was texting me, non-stop, begging me to play," Sabalenka said in a press conference in Berlin. "I was like, 'Man, I don’t want to play.' But he was begging and I was like, 'Ok, you got it.'"

The partnership will join a strong mixed doubles draw, which includes Alcaraz-Raducanu, Draper-Zheng, Fritz-Rybakina, and Kyrgios-Osaka, among others. The partnerships will compete for a grand prize of one million dollars for the winning pair.

"I didn’t really know about the mixed doubles situation at the US Open. I was like, 'What are you talking about? Why would we play mixed doubles?'" Sabalenka added. "He was explaining how it was before the US Open. But no one approached me, so I didn’t know if I was invited. We decided probably straight after the Australian Open."

It's important to remember that Sabalenka had a successful doubles career early on, despite no longer competing in the category. The Belarusian reached World No. 1 in doubles and won two Grand Slam titles alongside Belgium's Elise Mertens. Her last doubles appearance was at the 2021 Australian Open, where she and Mertens won their last major doubles title.