The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetter
Aryna Sabalenka was asked about 19 year old Teodora Kostovic saying ‘Let’s see if she can deal with my power,’ and Aryna says she felt like the 19 year old was faking her self belief
“Going back to the comment of Serbian player Teodora… When you were a young player like her, 18, 19, those kinds of messages.. was it more like her self confidence? That she wants to boost her confidence even more? Or did you get it as a message to the opponent, because the reaction in Serbian media was even making fun of her because the way she expressed her shots are like so strong. Was it more like boosting herself or sending really a message?
Aryna: “Me looking at this and then going to the match and seeing the reality, I think it was more like she was trying to trick herself and she was just trying to boost that self belief that she actually didn’t have. And I think, I don’t know. Sometimes it works. It always depends on the personality. Sometimes you have to really fake it til you make it. Sometimes you have to stay grounded and be real and work with what you have. So for me that message was a bit.. I would understand if it would be reasonable. But like I went in the match and was like… ‘which power was she talking about?’ Sometimes it works if you actually have that self belief. If you’re just trying to fake it and you don’t actually believe in it, it’s not gonna work. It’s important to stay true to yourself and be yourself. Trust yourself. I don’t know what she was trying to do with that message exactly. For me it was just like, faking it a little bit.”
(via Wimbledon Press)
