The world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is known for her unapologetically aggressive style of play. With her famous tiger tattoo and hard-hitting shots, she can easily intimidate her opponents. In a recent interview discussing his favorite players to watch, stand-up comedian and “The Daily Show” correspondent Michael Kosta praised the Belarusian, joking that her sheer physical power terrifies him into keeping his jokes to himself.
Aryna Sabalenka ‘Would Beat Me Up,’ Jokes Comedian Michael Kosta Over No. 1’s Power
On Tennis Channel’s show “Second Serve”, Kosta, who actually used to play professional tennis himself, was asked a very specific question: “Who is your favorite player to kind of, you know, get a little bit of monologue going (for Daily Show) with amongst the professionals on the men’s side and the women’s?”
For the men, Kosta chose Swedish tennis legend Stefan Edberg, poking fun at Edberg’s “awful forehand” and his famous crouched volleying stance. And Sabalenka, with her tiger tattoo, was his other favorite. “On the women’s side, I probably reference Aryna Sabalenka’s tattoo on her forearm,” Kosta said. “It’s a tiger, right? It is so her. She is such, in a positive way, she’s such an alpha ball-basher, and I just love it.”
“I don’t want to make fun of Aryna Sabalenka because she would beat me up, but she’s one of my favorite people to watch,” he laughed.
The roaring tiger tattoo on her left forearm is inspired by her 1998 birth year, a Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac. Sabalenka got that ink early in her career to constantly remind herself of the ruthless fighting spirit on the court.
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Kosta played on the ITF Futures and ATP Challenger circuits between 2000 and 2003, reaching career-high ATP singles rankings of No. 864 in 2003 and No. 501 in doubles. He also played college tennis at the University of Illinois, and later served as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan before pivoting to comedy. Kosta still draws on his tennis background in his stand-up shows, including segments on the Tennis Channel and hosting the podcast “Tennis Anyone?”.
In late March, Sabalenka defeated world No. 3 Coco Gauff in a thrilling three-set final (6-2, 4-6, 6-3) to capture the Miami Open title. Now, she is shifting her focus to the European clay-court swing. She was scheduled to headline the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart Open) in Germany, but was forced to withdraw on April 10 due to an injury sustained after Miami.
