Aryna Sabalenka admitted that Iga Swiatek is a better clay-court player, but that doesn’t mean she can’t beat her.
Every tennis player prefers different types of surfaces based on their qualities. Sabalenka excels on hard courts, where she has had the most success.
Swiatek, on the other hand, is one of the best clay-court players in recent times, consistently proving herself in every tournament she plays, including her recent victory at the Madrid Open.
Following the Madrid Open, Sabalenka moved to Rome for another WTA 1000 tournament, where she discussed her rivals’ strengths ahead of the Italian Open.
“Well, I mean, obviously Iga is much better on clay than me, for example. I would say Elena is better on grass. I’m maybe a little bit better on hard court. At the same time I cannot say that it’s all about the surface.”
“I mean, as time shows, I can beat them on clay, on hard, on grass. It’s not about the surface, I would say. It’s about honestly in each match couple of key moments where, like, probably she played better.”
Despite acknowledging Swiatek’s superiority on clay, Sabalenka remains confident in her ability to challenge her on that surface with strategic adjustments.
“For example, last match with Iga, I wouldn’t say on those important points I did something wrong, it’s just I was doing the right thing, but she was doing it better little bit. It’s just about little things.”
“Yeah, it’s not about the surface. It’s a process. You learn from that little mistakes you made during the match, then you go and work on them, you try better next time. It’s just little improvements, like little percentage better every day. Hope for the better result.”
