Yahoo News Aryna Sabalenka Has "The Craziest Team"
After Aryna Sabalenka won her first-ever Grand Slam title (the Australian Open in 2023), she thanked her team, calling them "the craziest team on tour." She added, "We worked so hard and you guys deserve this trophy. It’s more about you than it’s about me."
Her team, mainly from Sabalenka's home country of Belarus, often appear in videos on her social media:
Sabalenka's been with the same team for years, and as she looks to win her first U.S. Open, they will be cheering her on from her player's box at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Here, get to know who sits in Aryna Sabalenka's player's box:
Her coach, Anton Dubrov
Dubrov started working with Sabalenka back in 2020. Before, he worked as her hitting partner. "I feel very confident working with him," she shared back in 2020 when she made the switch. "This is definitely good for us to be successful, and so we’ll keep working and pushing hard to win more matches."
Sabalenka added, "I want to keep working with just him because I feel much better when I’m with someone who knows me well, and I don’t have to overthink. It really affected my focus because I ended up expending energy on other things that there wasn’t enough left over for my matches."
Her fitness coach, Jason Stacy
Stacy, like Dubrov, has been with Sabalenka for some time now. He describes himself on Instagram as focusing on "Mindset, Movement, Mentorship."
"I wouldn't say I love training," Sabalenka told T&C earlier this year. "I'm definitely a hard worker, and I love to work to get better. But my favorite part is definitely the end of the practice when you finished for the day and you've done a lot and you improved." She added, "It's a good feeling, when you've done something tough."
Her hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski
Vasilevski is a Belarusian tennis player who turned pro in 2009, and now works primarily as Sabalenka's hitting partner. After she won her first Grand Slam, he posted on Instagram, "I was lucky enough to be part of the team and watch the ups and downs, yes there were moments where you thought you couldn't succeed, there were doubts, but no matter what you continued to do what was needed to succeed, believed in it and today you absolutely deserve it you are the Grand Slam champion!"
Her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis
The newest addition in Sabalenka's player's box is her new beau, Georgios Frangulis; they started dating earlier this year. Frangulis, who is from Brazil, is the founder of Oakberry.
Shane Liyanage, a data scientist
Liyanage is a strategy and insights consultant who uses data to help inform tennis coaching decisions. He founded Data Driven Sports Analytics, and works with a number of players, including Sabalenka.
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