Sabalenka into final by being her own shrink

Aryna Sabalenka said she stopped consulting a psychologist in preseason and took the mental aspect of her game into her own hands, reaping immediate rewards with a title in Adelaide and a spot in the Australian Open final.

The Belarusian fifth seed had lost her three previous Grand Slam semifinals but downed Poland's Magda Linette 7-6(1) 6-2 at Melbourne Park yesterday to set up an intriguing title clash with Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

The victory extended her winning streak to 10 matches in 2023 without dropping a set, following a big decision before the start of the new season.

“To be honest I decided to stop working with a psychologist. I realised that nobody [other] than me will help me.

“In preseason, I spoke to my psychologist saying, ‘Listen, I feel I have to deal with that by myself’, because every time I’m hoping that someone will fix my problem, it’s not fixing it.

“I just have to take this responsibility .... Yeah, I’m my [own] psychologist.”

The 24-year-old said earlier in the tournament she needed to be a bit more “boring” on court to be more effective, by stopping her screaming.

“Actually, I’m not that boring, I think. I’m still screaming, ‘Come on’, and all that stuff. I don’t think it’s that boring to watch me. I hope so. Just less negative emotions.”