Aryna Sabalenka is known for her fierce and high-intensity approach on the court. Her mental and physical performance coach, Jason Stacy, has now lifted the lid on the approach they have adopted and refined over the years to ensure that her mentality is an asset and not a hindrance to her performances.
Sabalenka’s approach has certainly paid dividends, helping her become the world’s top-ranked women’s tennis player. She has dominated women’s tennis over the last 12 months, losing just 1 of her last 24 matches on the WTA Tour.
How Aryna Sabalenka and Coach Jason Stacy Built a Winning Mindset
The Belarusian is known for wearing her heart on her sleeve during matches. American tennis legend Andy Roddick mentioned her aggressive demeanor while interviewing Stacy on his podcast and asked whether they try to fine-tune that approach to get the best performance out of her.
Stacy spoke about how, instead of tempering her approach, they try to avoid the emotions and patterns that might prove to be a “liability” on the court. At the same time, he encourages the emotions that might be an “asset” for Sabalenka on the court.
“There’s always this like control your emotions, be stoic. It’s not about controlling the emotions, it’s about mastering them. It’s about creating an environment that allows you to be who you are, have that freedom to make mistakes, to explore, to fail, to win,” he said.
“Having that awareness, are all those emotions helping me or hurting me? Is it a liability or an asset? That’s what we’ve done over the years with Aryna. Started stripping away what’s the patterns or reactions that you’re having that are liabilities that are actually costing you energy and matches? Versus the things that are assets, the things that give you that fire and competitiveness, that ability to come back and win,” he added.
Sabalenka has never been shy about showing her emotions and expressing herself, whether that be on the court or on social media. She also puts a lot of pressure on herself, which has led to some setbacks in key finals over the years.
Despite those setbacks, Sabalenka continues to dominate women’s tennis and has a firm grip on the world No. 1 ranking. She continued her incredible run at the Sunshine Double, winning both the Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
MORE: Aryna Sabalenka’s Mental Growth Is ‘Scary’ for WTA Tour, Warns Andrea Petkovic
Now, she will have her sights set on continuing her incredible run of form and conquering the French Open this year, after losing to Coco Gauff in 2025.
