"I never thought she was going to be able to do": Mats Wilander praises Aryna Sabalenka for improving one aspect at Australian Open

Former world number one Mats Wilander has highlighted one area where the current women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka has improved in the ongoing Australian Open. The 26-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing women’s tennis, along with the likes of Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

Former world number one Wilander has been recently quoted in a report in which he highlighted one area where Sabalenka has improved more than he thought she would. “She is not just hitting the ball as hard as she can, she is mixing it up and hitting some drop shots,” he said as quoted by The Tennis Gazette. “I never thought she was going to be able to do that. But she has really done it.”

Sabalenka is currently taking part in the ongoing Australian Open where she is defending her crown for the second consecutive year. She lifted the title last year after beating China’s Zheng Qinwen in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka has cemented her spot in the quarterfinal of the first Grand Slam of the year in 2025 after beating Russia’s young tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

Sabalenka will now face Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last-eight clash. The 33-year-old cemented her spot in the quarterfinal after beating Croatia’s Donna Vekic in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-0. It will be the fourth meeting between the two players. Interestingly, in the previous three meetings, Pavlyuchenkova has a slight edge with two wins and one defeat. However, it will be the first time when these two players will face off in nearly four years. Their most recent meeting was in the third round of the French Open back in 2021 where Pavlyuchenkova came out on top with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.