Sabalenka primed for Australian Open after exhibition experiments

VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE COMMENTS FROM WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA AHEAD OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JANUARY 16, 2026) (TENNIS AUSTRALIA – Editorial use only. No resales. No monetisation) 1. BELARUSIAN TENNIS PLAYER ARYNA SABALENKA SEATED FOR PRESS CONFERENCE 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA, ON BEING READY FOR SEASON-OPENING GRAND SLAM, SAYING: "I'm happy to be back. I have a lot of great memories from this place, and yeah, I can't complain about my start of the season. I think I played some great matches there, showed great tennis, and I'm super excited to start this tournament." 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA, ON HER PREPARATIONS, SAYING: "Yeah, I had a great off-season, so I was really recovered and ready, and I played an extra exhibition, but I think they all made sense. And it's kind of like good matches to have that, like matches, and to test a couple of things that I've been working on during the preseason. So, I felt exhausted after Atlanta and New York, but I had one or two days off, so I felt recovered after, and I had a great preparation. Then there was a really high intensity match against Nick, which was also kind of like part of my preparation, and by the end of the pre-season I felt really strong and ready." 6. WHITE FLASH 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA, REFLECTING ON HER LOSS TO MADISON KEYS IN 2025 AUS OPEN, SAYING: "Yeah, last year that final was a tough one; she played incredible and overplayed me, and it took me a little time to recover, but we had… matches after that, and I kind of worked on my mistakes in those matches, and I'm going into this AO. I'm not really focusing on that last year's result, but of course I would like to do just a little bit better than I did last year." 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA, ON RIVALRY WITH IGA SWIATEK, SAYING: "It's not only about me and her to be honest, but it's crazy to think that we only played once last year and we haven't played this year yet, and I hope we're going to play more often this season. And also, as I said, it's not only about us. There are so many great players I have also great rivalries with. So, yeah." 10. WHITE FLASH 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA, WHEN ASKED WHAT BOOK SHE IS READING NOW, SAYING: "I don't know, guys. I'm terrible at reading books. I just, I always follow how I feel, you know, like, and that time I felt like reading. I wanted to disappear from social media and just wanted to be by myself and with the book. So, that time it worked perfectly." 12. WHITE FLASH 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA, WHEN ASKED WHAT BOOK SHE IS READING NOW, SAYING: "But, well, I have to be honest: studying, never studying, reading, and learning has never been my weapon. So maybe that's why I succeed in tennis because this is the only sport left for me." 14. WHITE FLASH 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER ONE ARYNA SABALENKA, ON THE LINES OF BRAND SERENA (WILLIAMS) AND BRAND MARIA SHARAPOVA, THE BRAND SHE WANTS TO BE, SAYING:  "I always wanted to be something bigger than just a tennis player. I always wanted to be an inspiration for the next generation and be an example of a great athlete who can balance things around. And also I always share and I always work with the brands that I really, truly love, that I really use. And I wanted to promote things that I think can help so many people. And that's basically my brand. It's showing people that it's okay to balance on and off the court life and it's okay to have fun, but also be really focused on your goals." 16. WHITE FLASH 17. SABALENKA LEAVING PRESSER STORY: Aryna Sabalenka's off-season featured a string of exhibition matches and the world number one said on Friday (January 16) they had given her the ideal platform to experiment and refine her game ahead of her push for a third Australian Open title. While the majority of players chose to wind down after a gruelling 11-month campaign, Sabalenka played exhibition matches in Atlanta and New York last month before facing Nick Kyrgios in a controversial "Battle of the Sexes" showdown in Dubai. She began the 2026 season by claiming the Brisbane title, mixing her raw power with a serve-and-volley game and deft touches that she believes will hold her in good stead ahead of the Melbourne Park major starting on Sunday. "I had a great off-season, so I was really recovered and ready," Sabalenka told reporters. Sabalenka missed out on a third straight Melbourne Park crown last year, losing to outsider Madison Keys in the final, and the 27-year-old will not take any challengers for granted. Among those who stand in her way of a fifth major title is Iga Swiatek, who will look to complete her career Grand Slam and create a pathway back to the world number one position. Sabalenka has been a picture of consistency on the women's tour in the last few seasons, not missing the quarter-finals of a major she has played in since 2022, and the Belarusian said switching off in between matches helped her. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

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