‘Aryna Sabalenka Reflects on Dubai Exit: “I’m Not That Hungry” and Feeling ‘All Over the Place”

Aryna Sabalenka has attributed her disappointing round-of-16 exit in Dubai to a lack of focus, as the women’s world No. 1 struggles to find her rhythm after the Australian Open.

On Thursday AEDT, Sabalenka was overpowered by Danish player Clara Tauson, ranked 38th in the world, losing 6-3, 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

This marked Tauson’s first victory over a top-five player.

This loss adds to Sabalenka’s recent struggles, having been shocked by Madison Keys in the Australian Open final last month.

Upon returning to the court, the Belarusian also faced defeat in her first-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova in Doha, followed by the match against Tauson in Dubai.

Sabalenka’s current difficulties are a stark contrast to her strong start to 2025, where she claimed the title at the Brisbane International and reached her third consecutive final in Australia.

After her straight-sets loss to Tauson, Sabalenka acknowledged her waning competitive spirit in recent weeks.

“I feel like I’m not as hungry on the court,” she told journalists.

“My thoughts are a bit scattered, and my on-court consistency is lacking. Some of the decisions I’m making aren’t quite right, and emotionally I’m not at my peak.”

“These last two tournaments haven’t been my best by any means. I’m ready to move on and leave them behind.”

Despite acknowledging that she has been dealing with illness during her time in Dubai, Sabalenka noted she is on the mend.

Traditionally, Sabalenka has faced challenges in the Middle East leg of the tour.

The 26-year-old has yet to progress past the quarter-finals in any of her nine appearances in Dubai, and since her title win in Doha in 2020, she has only managed to advance to the last 16 once.

“I’d say for the past couple of years, things haven’t gone well for me in the Middle East. We definitely need to rethink our preparations,” Sabalenka commented.

“I consistently feel off when competing here. Even mentally, health-wise I’m not in a good place. Playing in Australia always drains a lot of energy from me.”

“I believe it’s crucial for my team and me to strategise how we can improve our preparation for the Middle East in the future.”

Tauson faced her own challenges in the lead-up to the match against Sabalenka after a late finish in her previous round.

Having fought hard for two hours and 41 minutes against Elina Svitolina to win in three sets, Tauson commented, “I’ve had a crazy 24 hours.”

“I think I managed about five hours of sleep last night. We wrapped up at 3:30am, so I wasn’t sure how I’d perform. But it seems I managed pretty well!”

Tauson will now face Linda Noskova in the quarter-finals after the Czech player caused an upset by defeating fifth seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets.