The morning after Aryna Sabalenka won her second consecutive Australian Open, her hotel room is chaos. You can forgive her for not tidying up; after only a few hours of sleep and a long night of celebrating over sour gummy bears and champagne, Sabalenka’s room has been retconned into the set for her digital cover shoot with Vogue Australia, for which she is being styled in a roster of Australian designers (Christopher Esber, Camilla Marc, Dion Lee) and her trusty, trophy-winning cherry red Nike sneakers. “I actually love doing photoshoots,” Sabalenka grins, as she is zipped into a second-skin Zimmermann skirt. “Right now, with the professionals I feel like I’m doing a terrible job,” she jokes. “I think I need to do some classes and learn some stuff about how to pose.”
Inside her hotel room, there are clothes on every surface; Nike bags are strewn across the floor. Lining the window overlooking downtown Melbourne are bouquets of flowers (multiple)—from her boyfriend, the hockey player Konstantin Koltsov; from the hotel—a bottle of Piper Heidsick champagne, and a pristine, untouched chocolate gateau in the shape of a tennis court, declaring her the 2024 Australian Open champion. The whole room smells like sugar.
On a side table is a beautiful hand-drawn card, given to the 25-year-old multiple Grand Slam champion just that morning by a young girl. “Congratulations winner” the card exclaims, the Australian Open trophy rendered in fluorescent yellow highlighter. “She was asking some questions about what advice I could give to her and who was my inspiration growing up,” Sabalenka shares. “She watched my match yesterday and she loved it. She was so sweet to me.”
Sabalenka is riding an unbelievable high. On Saturday night, she defended her Australian Open title in just 76 minutes, a fast and furious match that was over in straight, exacting sets. Sabalenka came into the final against Zheng Qinwen behind, ranked number two to Qinwen’s one. But Sabalenka’s game was methodical and dynamic, powering the Belarusian to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in just over an hour of playing time. Australia is undoubtedly Sabalenka’s lucky charm; she won in her very first Grand Slam singles final here just last year, in a match that went down to the wire. Over the past 12 months, she has reached the semifinals at every Grand Slam and played some of her best tennis, but her victory lap in Melbourne has been astonishing. This century, only Ash Barty has dropped fewer games on the road to Australian Open glory. Put it this way: Sabalenka hasn’t lost a match at Rod Laver arena since 2021.
The Australian Open trophy carries with it untold personal meaning, too. When Sabalenka’s father died five years ago, she promised him that she would win two Grand Slams by the time she was 25. Back to back Australian Opens fulfills that vow—and Sabalenka is still 25. (She turns 26 in May.) It’s a bittersweet moment for her, but one that fuels her forward. “When you get one or two, you get hungrier and hungrier,” she explains. “You want it even more than you wanted it before, because you have this taste of what it’s like. The goal is to keep pushing yourself to the limits and see how far you can get.”
Vogue: Congratulations on not just a victory, but a really dominant victory. What are you most proud of from your performance this tournament?
Aryna Sabalenka: I think the best thing was I was able to handle pressure really well and compete at such a high level with all the pressure, which was the best thing I did over the last couple of weeks.
Did you feel like there was added pressure coming back to defend the title?
Of course. You try to ignore it but you see your pictures everywhere. Like, every interview you get these questions about defending the title. You try to ignore it but still it’s in your head. For two weeks you’re really fighting with yourself inside, trying not to let these doubts come into your mind. It’s been a really tough couple of weeks and I’m really happy I was able to get through.
It’s been 10 years since Victoria Azarenka went back-to-back, and only five women in history haven’t dropped a set at the Australian Open. How does it feel to be in that rarefied group?
It’s really crazy, and I still need some time to realize what just happened. It’s just a dream and I couldn’t even dream about it. After this kind of achievement you’re getting more hungry, you want more, and I’m even more excited now to keep going. To keep doing my best… I’m hungry for more. I’m super motivated to keep working hard and keep fighting for it.
Is victory sweeter the second time around?
I don’t know. I still think that the first one is the sweetest one, because it’s really tough to get the first one, and all the emotions and the things outside the court. But this one was really sweet and super special. It’s hard to describe what I’m feeling right now: it’s a combination of happiness, being exhausted, being super excited, and I can’t wait to come back. I feel like every time is different. You are facing different challenges.
Do you have a special place in your heart for Australia now?
I feel like I’m home. Especially the support I’m getting here—this is a special place in my heart, forever.
A lot has been said about your beloved father and the promise you made to him to win two Grand Slams by the time you were 25.
Actually, I wouldn’t say that last night it was in my head. I would say last year it was a lot in my head and that’s why I was crying a lot. This year, not really, to be honest. I’m more thinking about my mom and my sister and my family who are still here with me. They are my biggest motivation right now.
After receiving that beautiful card from the young girl this morning, do you get a sense that you are a role model for women in sport?
Honestly, I don’t really think about it, but that’s another goal and dream: to inspire the next generation. And I really hope that my story will help somebody to believe in themselves and to keep going and keep fighting and keep doing their best.
Where does that fighting spirit come from? Because a couple of years ago you had a really tough time with your service game. [In 2022, Sabalenka notched up 428 double faults.]
I don’t know. My parents were always getting crazy because I was breaking the racket. But the only thing they would say is they would never be pissed at me if you give it your all and you fight for every point. For them, it didn’t matter if I was losing or winning, it’s about giving it all—and not breaking the rackets [laughs]. The only thing they got mad at me was [for] breaking the rackets. Before I was 12 years old, I broke six or seven rackets, which is a lot.
When you look back over your career, was there a moment where things clicked for you and fell into place?
The whole year I was struggling with my serve, I was working so hard on fixing it and trying to figure out what was the actual problem. We tried so many different things and it was a little bit of hard work. That’s actually it. It’s not like it clicked one day, and we get why that happened there. It’s a process.
Was there ever a moment where you thought, Oh, I’m so done?
There was a moment where I was about to quit, actually. [I thought:] I can’t keep going, it’s too much. But I couldn’t give up, because of my family and my father. I felt like I had to keep going and keep doing what I’m doing. I know that he wouldn’t accept that and he would be really pissed if he would hear that I was about to quit because I was tired of trying. Especially when something was working, and then something happened and it stopped working, which means it’s there, you just have to figure out the way to get it back.
What is it about winning that drives you?
Every time you win you feel like, okay, it wasn’t a waste of time and I’m doing everything right. You have this understanding that you are where you re meant to be. It’s a boost of energy and adrenaline and belief and you just feel alive.
In this story: hair, Bradwyn Jones; makeup, Filomena Natoli. Fashion assistant: Isabella Mamas. Executive producer: Rikki Keene. Production: Charlotte Rose. Originally appeared on vogue.com.au.