Aryna Sabalenka opens up about the secrets to her personal improvements and her special bond with Paula Badosa

Aryna Sabalenka has given some insight into her journey from being “closed” to the outside world to becoming a “more open” person as she explained how she is starting to understand herself better.

The 25-year-old is the first to admit that she was a very emotional person during the early stages of her career as she didn’t really allow anyone to get to know the real Aryna Sabalenka.

But she has made a lot of “personal improvements” – as her team puts it – over the past few years and now she is reaping the rewards.

After she successfully defended her Australian Open title, Sabalenka was asked about the changes in her life that she is proud of and she went into detail about her transformation as well as her bond with fellow player Paula Badosa.“I would say that I’m more open right now. I’m happy that I was able to build some friendships, like with Paula,” she told WTA Insider.

“Because before I was so closed and I was so afraid to open up to people. I’m happy that I have such a friend like Paula. She’s the best. I love this girl. I think we’re kind of similar.And it’s not like I wasn’t respecting people before, but I respect everyone more than I used to.

“I cannot ignore the fact that I’m really proud that I was able to understand myself better. I have this control of myself. That’s quite an obvious thing. Everyone sees that, but it’s really tough to improve when you’re such an emotional person and you’re used to getting super emotional every time. To actually become really in control on court, it’s really tough work.”She added: “If I let people be my friends or be around me, I’m a really open person. You can ask for anything, I will help. You just need to call me and I will do anything you need to help you or to support you.

“But to get there, I’m really quite a closed person. I’ve been through really difficult situations in life with some people and that’s why I become that closed. That’s what I mean when I’m saying I’m more open right now.”

Sabalenka also asked about the importance of getting the “One-Slam Wonder” monkey off her back by winning a second major at Melbourne Park.

“It’s very sad that people call “one Grand Slam champions” that way. And of course, it was in my head, I didn’t want to be a one-time Grand Slam champion,” she said.