Tennis icon Martina Navratilova believes Aryna Sabalenka will respond to her Grand Slam final defeats, following the Belarusian’s Australian Open final loss in January.
World No 1 Sabalenka was the pre-tournament favourite for the title in Melbourne and impressed during her run to the final, not dropping a set across her first six matches.
However, her dreams of a fifth major singles title were dashed by Elena Rybakina in the championship match, with the Kazakh rallying from 3-0 down in the deciding set to claim an impressive 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory.
Sabalenka is the winner of four Grand Slam singles crowns, having lifted the Australian Open title in 2023 and 2024, and the US Open title in 2024 and 2025.
However, the 27-year-old has now lost three of her last four Slam finals, with a once-positive 3-1 record in major finals now level at 4-4.
The Belarusian defeated Amanda Anisimova to lift the US Open title last September, though she had lost to Coco Gauff in the French Open final just three months before.
Sabalenka has now lost back-to-back Australian Open finals, with a defeat to Rybakina this year following on from a loss to Madison Keys in the 2025 final.
Few players know as much as Navratilova when it comes to reaching a Grand Slam final, with the tennis great winning 18 of her 32 major singles finals.
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Speaking to the WTA Tour this week, the 69-year-old claimed there were positives and negatives about Sabalenka’s current run.
Navratilova said: “She played so well getting to the AO final, winning tough matches. Kept it together, but she was not nearly near her best.
“The good news is that she’s getting to Grand Slam finals — five of the past six. The bad news is that she’s lost three of them.”
Sabalenka’s ability to bounce back from tough losses and tough moments on court has often been praised, particularly in regard to her service struggles during a challenging 2022 season.
While Navratilova believes that scar tissue could be a concern for Sabalenka, she also believes that the Belarusian is more than capable of flipping a switch and claiming more Grand Slam titles in the future.
“It’s a tough one to get over because you can deal with it — until you get there again,” added the former world No 1.
“When you get into that situation, the body kind of does its own thing. And you don’t know what to do. You feel like you’re outside of your body looking down.
“It’s so easy to develop scar tissue, considering it’s the biggest stage. The whole world is watching, which magnifies it so much more.
“I’m sure she can deal with it. For me, looking back, the way she fixed her serve and fixed herself speaks volumes. So I’m thinking she’s going to figure it out and learn how to manage it better.”
Sabalenka has not been in action since the Australian Open, with the world No 1 choosing to withdraw from both the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
Having won the Brisbane International and reached the Australian Open final so far in 2026, Sabalenka will be the top seed and among the leading contenders when she returns to action at Indian Wells this week.
Indian Wells is one of the most prestigious events on the WTA Tour calendar and is one of the biggest titles Sabalenka has yet to win, having twice finished as the tournament runner-up.
She was beaten by Rybakina in the 2023 final, before a three-set loss to Mirra Andreeva last March.
Main draw action in Indian Wells starts this Wednesday (March 4), with Sabalenka set to start her campaign on Friday or Saturday.
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