Aryna Sabalenka has transformed her approach to tennis over the past few years, and it has paid off, earning her three Grand Slams among other accomplishments. Perhaps one of the boldest decisions she made along the way was to stop working with a sports psychologist.

Sabalenka reached her first Major final at the 2023 Australian Open, where she faced off against fellow hardcourt specialist Elena Rybakina. Making the most of her opportunity, the former came from a set down to defeat her opponent 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and lift the prestigious Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

Before her match against Rybakina, the Belarusian made a surprising admission that she had stopped working with a sports psychologist during the pre-season. She explained that she felt it was time to take charge of her own mindset, believing that no one could help her more than she could help herself.

“To be honest, I decided to stop working with a psychologist. I realized that nobody than me will help, you know?” Aryna Sabalenka told the reporters.

“Yeah, on the pre-season I spoke to my psychologist saying, like, Listen, I feel like I have to deal with that by myself, because every time hoping that someone will fix my problem, it’s not fixing my problem,” she added.

The World No. 1 continued:

“I just have to take this responsibility, and I just have to deal with that. Yeah, I’m not working with a psychologist any more. I’m my own psychologist (laughter).”

Sabalenka has a solid team by her side to support her through every challenge. Her circle includes coach Anton Dubrov, fitness coach Jason Stacy, her boyfriend Georgios Frangulis, and a few others.