WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka revealed that eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi gave her advice, which she has been successfully implementing at the 2025 Indian Wells Open.
Sabalenka appeared at the MGM Rewards Slam exhibition in Las Vegas a few days before the Indian Wells Open began. She and Naomi Osaka played a singles match together, along with some other special guests.
The exhibition was initially set to last two days, with ATP players scheduled for the second day, but that was canceled after several of the men got food poisoning and Jannik Sinner withdrew due to his ongoing suspension.
Before Sabalenka and Osaka’s singles contest, a mixed doubles match was played. Agassi partnered with Sabalenka, while Fish played alongside Osaka. Fans thoroughly enjoyed watching this light-hearted occasion played in good spirits.
After the exhibition, Sabalenka and Agassi had a discussion that fans were not aware of. The two-time Australian Open winner revealed during an interview with the Tennis Channel that Agassi provided her with advice that has proved beneficial during the Indian Wells Open.
“A lot of things. We actually had a great chat after the exhibition, and I mean, it’s obvious that he’s smart (chuckles). We had a really great chat, he gave me his advice on tennis, which actually works, so thank you, Andre.”
Sabalenka also praised Agassi for being a genuinely nice person and for maintaining a natural serving technique, despite not playing much tennis since retiring after his loss to Benjamin Becker at the 2006 US Open.
“He’s such a nice guy. His tennis is still really good, and I was impressed by his timing. He was like, ‘Oh, I am not training that much; I am not playing tennis,’ and then he serves, and his serve is better than mine. I’m like the timing, I was like okay, I think we are doing something wrong. But it was fun playing at that exhibition, especially playing with Andre. It was fun.”
Sabalenka’s comments turned humorous when she revealed she asked Agassi to bring back the infamous denim shorts he wore during his legendary career.
“Yeah, he was so stylish. I was like, where is your, how you say that, the jeans shorts, where are they? And he was like, probably a little bit off shape but he needs to bring it back, it looks so cool.”
It would be fascinating to know what Agassi’s advice was, but Sabalenka’s reluctance to share it is understandable, as it could assist her opponents when preparing to face the Belarusian.
Sabalenka’s comments on the Tennis Channel came after she convincingly defeated Lucia Bronzetti, losing just three games. The Belarusian responded to Iga Swiatek’s impressive form with that performance.
There are many outstanding competitors on the WTA Tour, but Sabalenka and Swiatek have set the standard as the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 players after being consistent for the last few years.
