{"id":142847,"date":"2025-09-17T07:14:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T07:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/142847\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T07:14:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T07:14:12","slug":"aryna-sabalenka-on-celebration-plans-dobel-tequila-and-tennis-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/142847\/","title":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka on Celebration Plans, Dobel Tequila and Tennis Rivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIf you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.<\/p>\n

\n\tTwo weeks ago at Flushing Meadows, Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> defended her U.S. Open title with a straight-sets win over Amanda Anisimova to claim her fourth Grand Slam trophy and second in New York. The final, which lasted just over 90 minutes, hinged on Sabalenka\u2019s steadiness under pressure. For the Belarusian athlete, who had fallen short earlier this year in the finals of both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, the win reinforced her reputation as the most dominant hard court player on tour. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI remember the moment I\u00a0entered the stadium for the first time \u2014 it just immediately brought me back to last year\u2019s finals and the moment of winning\u201d Sabalenka tells me at the St. Regis in New York City, one day into the U.S Open tournament, and one week before winning her fourth Grand Slam. \u201cIt was just such a good vibes and I really want to replicate that and to experience that feeling again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, we now know she successfully manifested another win \u2014 becoming the first woman since Serena Williams to win back-to-back U.S. Opens and solidifying her world No. 1 ranking. Before any of this, though, we\u2019re sitting across from each other in the storied hotel\u2019s grand ballroom, sipping a \u201cMarg-Aryna\u201d cocktail she created in partnership with Dobel Tequila<\/a>, only fantasizing about how she would celebrate a U.S Open win.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Aryna<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMaestro Dobel Diamante Tequila \t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile drinking and partying is not a part of the lifestyle for any professional athlete, Sabalenka says there\u2019s no beverage she enjoys more than tequila when celebrating the end to a long tournament run. So, it was only fitting that ahead of the U.S Open, she would partner with the Mexican spirits brand, which she says is one of the only tequilas that doesn\u2019t give her a hangover.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI remember one day I tried Dobel and the next day I didn\u2019t feel like I had had anything the night before.\u201d she says. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s really good.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tSo, how will she celebrate her US. Open win? Next year, she plans to go back to Greece and rent a huge boat and to travel across the islands. \u201cIt\u2019s so beautiful, so clean,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd DJs on the beach clubs, they always play really cool music. You\u2019re always having fun there. And the food \u2014 oh my God \u2014 the food is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, Sabalenka talks to Variety about her celebration plans, Dobel Tequila campaign, on-court rivalries and tennis fashion: <\/p>\n

\t\tHow did this partnership come about?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI love tequila and I feel like Dobel is really the smoothest one. I really feel great the next day because before if I would go out and have a drink the next day, I was still hungover. And I remember one day I tried Dobel and the next day I didn\u2019t feel like I had had anything the night before. And I was like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s really good. What if I met the team and just got some free stuff? Just to my house whenever I have a moment to have fun with the friends. And then we just came to the partnership and it\u2019s been really amazing and fun. And we came up with \u2018Marg-Aryna,<\/a> which is obviously Dobel and then we mix it with Tropical Punch Olipop, which makes it healthier and a different flavor but so good. I love a margarita.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat is your relationship with alcohol and partying given your strict schedule?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s not much time where we can just go out and have fun. I just had a little vacation after Wimbledon for a week. So there I could allow myself to have little drinks. And I love certain drinks and sometimes I get tired of having the same one. So whenever I feel like trying something else, I always ask, \u2018Whatever alcohol you have it in it, can you just switch it out for tequila?\u2019 And they would always pour Dobel instead of whatever. And they always taste great. And whenever I have something to celebrate, like a title or after the tournament,\u00a0 I allow myself to drink a little bit. So it\u2019s not that much because we always stay disciplined and are very strict to the schedule. And there are not many opportunities to have fun. But drinking in celebration is the best because then you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, whatever. I\u2019ll have it all\u2019 and you just go for it the next day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tWhere do you like to travel when you have the rare time off?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, Athens, Mykonos. But next year, we are planning to rent a huge boat, staying in a boat and going around the islands. So I feel like Greece is the best place. It\u2019s so beautiful, so clean. And DJs on the beach clubs, they always play really cool music, you\u2019re always having fun there. And the food, oh my God, the food is amazing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat is your pre-match ritual?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe day before the match, you take it easy. You just like one hit in the middle of the day and then a treatment and then just chilling in the room watching some Netflix, trying to go to bed. I try to go to bed not that early but not later than 12. Usually it\u2019s like 11. Sometimes I struggle to fall asleep. And on the next day, I always like to go to my favorite breakfast places. Also it depends on the time of the match. If it\u2019s like 7 p.m., I take it easy and I enjoy my time. And then the moment I get into the car, going inside,\u00a0this is the moment where I\u00a0 switch off, and I start getting into that match mode. And sometimes I like to put my headphones on and just listen to the music and think about whatever to motivate myself. And then we go inside, we warm up, we stay with the team, we have our lunch and then it\u2019s time to rock and roll.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you have a specific song or playlist you listen to before a match?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s always different. It\u2019s a seasonal thing. If I get tired of something, then I switch it to another type of music. But\u00a0 right now, since I\u2019ve been to Mykonos and I love this DJ vibe, I just go for a \u2018We Are the People\u2019 remix, and I just keep the radio on Spotify and it\u2019s just a really cool mix of music. Or I just go to a Coldplay playlist. It\u2019s always different, I\u2019m not the person who\u2019s going to listen to one artist all the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tHow do you deal with your tennis rivalries? \t<\/p>\n

\n\tRivalries are such a huge part of of tennis culture. I think I love it. I think that\u2019s what\u2019s what pushes me to get better. And I remember, since a very young age, having this rivalry situation would always push\u00a0 me to go and work harder and do better and become better. So I love it, it\u2019s a good push for me to keep working hard and trying to become better than another one and it\u2019s always a process of learning and getting better. That\u2019s why I love sports because you always compete with someone, you have to take it as as a good thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tTennis fashion has become so much more ubiquitous over the past couple of years. Have you seen any trends on the court or in the stands you\u2019re specifically loving or hating?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI actually love to see that tennis is so fashionable and every other brand is doing some sort of collaboration with tennis. So honestly, I love it so much. And I love to see that. There\u2019s no such thing in fashion as \u2018Oh it\u2019s bad or it\u2019s good.\u2019 I feel like everyone has a different point of view on fashion, and everyone loves different things. It\u2019s cool for sport to get bigger, to bring more people in the sport, more interest in the sport and it\u2019s good for us at the end of the day. So far, whatever I\u2019m seeing, I\u2019ve loved it. I think it\u2019s cool, people getting creative and doing collaborations and every brand does it in their own way. So I love to see that and it makes our sport, our life, more popular and bigger and we are more seen for what we do. I think it\u2019s so cool.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[7307,101,118,56,54,55,6545],"class_list":{"0":"post-142847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-aryna-sabalenka","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-tennis","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom","14":"tag-us-open"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}