Aryna Sabalenka praised by Kim Clijsters for making rare move that has made her even better

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Aryna Sabalenka beat Elena Rybakina to win the 2026 Indian Wells title.

In doing so, the Belarusian extended her lead as the world number one to 3,242 points.

Sabalenka has been a class above on the WTA Tour as of late and continues to improve.

Is Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina the best rivalry in women’s tennis right now?

If not, who is?

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During the latest episode of ‘Love All‘, Kim Clijsters praised Sabalenka for making a smart decision last year.

Kim Clijsters credits Aryna Sabalenka for bringing Max Mirnyi into her team

Last summer, Sabalenka hired her fellow Belarusian and former Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles champion, Max Mirnyi.

Since then, Sabalenka has won the US Open, Brisbane International, and Indian Wells, all while maintaining her status as the world number one.

Clijsters now shares her thoughts on Sabalenka’s decision to hire Mirnyi.

“The fact they were able to add Max Mirnyi to the team and that chemistry is working…” said Clijsters.

“There are not a lot of coaches who work with a top player who are open to adding an extra voice. It takes a whole team to work.

“We see it a lot on the men’s side where Darren Cahill joins [Jannik] Sinner’s team, and we have seen it on Roger’s [Federer] teams where he brings former players on, but on the women’s side, you do not see it that often where a player will have two coaches, at least not at the same event.

“They might switch and have a couple of coaches working with them, but to see them together, you don’t see that very often.

Aryna Sabalenka’s record since Max Mirnyi joined her team

“So a lot of credit to Aryna but also to her team for having that mindset.”

Clijsters proceeded to comment on Sabalenka’s ‘revenge’ win over Rybakina at Indian Wells.

“She was very open in her press conference after her finals, she explained the frustration and what she wanted to work on after she lost to Rybakina in the Australian Open final, and just the fact she was able to show and use the things that she was really frustrated with in the final of the Australian Open to make a difference and use that,” she said.

“It’s amazing in tennis, you hope for that next opportunity to get it, and I’m sure this came a bit faster than she anticipated.”

The Belgian believes Mirnyi played a role in Sabalenka’s latest win at Indian Wells.

“The fact she has been able in about four or five weeks where she had the time to work and take the month of February off, to really focus on staying on top of the baseline and adding more variety, that’s where I think Mirnyi has really stepped in and made her feel more comfortable in believing she can hit the slice and come in and be a great volley player,” said Clijsters.

“She has a great history of being a good doubles player as well, so why not use that against these types of players and trick them and make them feel off balance a little bit?

“It’s really impressive.

“The best players keep improving and working on their weaknesses, and she is one of those players who is not just a hard hitter like a lot of people think she is, but she can slice and defend well.

“She can put variety on to the serve and has the net game now as well.

“She is going to become tougher and tougher to beat.”

Working with Mirnyi, Jason Stacy, and Anton Dubrov, Sabalenka has established herself as the gold standard in women’s tennis.

During Indian Wells, Sabalenka spoke highly of Mirnyi, outlining his importance.

“Not only serve and volley, he also helped me in baseline strokes, he helped a lot, very smart approach,” she said.

With Mirnyi by her side, Sabalenka will look to pick up another title at the Miami Open later this month…

Is Aryna Sabalenka the Miami Open favorite?

Sabalenka is the world number one, and the defending champion, but our fans on TalkingPoints don’t back her to win the Miami Open title.

She has just 16% of the vote, behind Rybakina and fan favorite Alex Eala.

TalkingPoints vote share

Can Sabalenka prove the fans wrong and win the title?

Only time will tell.

The Belarusian will begin her Miami Open campaign later this week against Ann Li or Kimberly Birrell.