{"id":516240,"date":"2026-03-11T03:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T03:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/516240\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T03:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T03:16:14","slug":"sabalenka-credits-new-dog-with-providing-mental-health-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/516240\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabalenka credits new dog with providing ‘mental health support’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mar 10, 2026, 06:18 PM ET<\/p>\n

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> credits her new puppy, Ash, with providing “mental health support” as she continues to rack up victories and maintain her standing as the top-ranked player in women’s tennis.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka brought her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to a post-match interview on the Tennis Channel following her round-of-16 victory over Naomi Osaka<\/a> on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open.<\/p>\n

“I feel like I’m much more settled, calm, more in control,” Sabalenka said while Tennis Channel commentators held and petted her dog. “Whenever I feel like going crazy on my team, I just pet Ash and I feel better.”<\/p>\n

Sabalenka, who also recently announced her engagement<\/a> to Brazilian businessman Georgios Frangulis, shared news of her puppy in a social media post<\/a> last week, introducing Ash as a “new addition” to Team Tiger, her support team of coaches, trainers and other staff.<\/p>\n

She spoke more about Ash following her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Osaka.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka said she had a deal with coach Anton Dubrov that if she won last year’s US Open, she would get a dog.<\/p>\n

She also considered getting a Dachshund, but decided on a spaniel because “my mom had a spaniel and I loved that dog,” adding that spaniels make good “family dogs.”<\/p>\n

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“Super attached to their owners, super chill, super cute, supper cuddly,” she said.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka said she wanted her dog’s name to be related somehow to New York and the US Open.<\/p>\n

“Apple doesn’t sound right,” she said. So, she went with Ash as a nod to American tennis great and civil rights activist Arthur Ashe, after whom the main US Open stadium court is named.<\/p>\n