Aryna Sabalenka has already won her first tournament of the 2026 tennis season.
Sabalenka won her first tournament of the year on Sunday, defeating Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3 in the Brisbane International.
As a result, Sabalenka has now won five of her last eight tournaments to start the season.
Sabalenka will, of course, have bigger goals in mind. After all, she is a four-time Grand Slam champion who will be motivated to win her third Australian Open title later this year.
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While Sabalenka is a superstar of the sport, she has been criticised in the past for losing her cool in the biggest moments; most notably during her 2025 French Open final loss to Coco Gauff.
However, Elena Dementieva believes Sabalenka now has this aspect of her game under control.
Elena Dementieva says Aryna Sabalenka ‘has become much calmer’
Elena Dementieva, a winner of 16 WTA Tour-level singles titles – including an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics – discussed Sabalenka’s composure while speaking on First and Red.
“Aryna [Sabalenka] has actually been managing her emotions better in recent years,” Dementieva began.
“She has become much calmer, and she is taking control. She can step out and lose concentration, give in to emotions, but then she pulls herself together again.
“She has learned to regulate these processes, and the fact that she is emotional, hot-tempered, just the way she is, I think that is why people love her.
“This is also her strong point, because of this, she wins a lot. I think it’s good that it’s still there.”
The former world number three also weighed in on Sabalenka’s Australian Open chances.
She said: “Maybe. Yes, at the moment from what we have seen, even at these preparation tournaments, yes, there is a high probability that this will happen.”
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Sabalenka won the Australian Open title in 2023 and 2024. She narrowly missed out on winning three consecutive titles; defeated in the 2025 final by Madison Keys.
Who is Elena Dementieva?
Alongside the likes of Alexander Zverev and Marcelo Rios, Dementieva is undoubtedly one of the best tennis players in history to have never won a Grand Slam tournament.
The former world number three reached two Grand Slam singles finals during her career: the 2004 French Open and US Open.
Dementieva was also an accomplished doubles player, reaching the US Open Women’s Doubles final in 2002 and 2005. The Russian also won the 2002 WTA Finals alongside Janette Husárová.
Dementieva retired from tennis in 2010 following her exit from the WTA Finals in the group phase.
After announcing her retirement, Dementieva told the crowd in Doha: “I would [like] to thank all the players for an amazing experience and some wonderful memories.
“It’s very emotional. “I would like to thank all the people around the world that have supported me throughout my career and especially my fan club, you were always there for me.
“No matter winning or losing, I could always feel your support so thank you for your devotion. It’s emotional saying goodbye to all of you. I will miss you.”
Vera Zvonereva, the former world number two who recently returned to competitive play, said: “I think I just wanted to say thank you, Russia is proud of you, proud to have you.
“What you’ve done for tennis in Russia, you’ve been a great inspiration, a role model for all the young kids for the past 10 years.
“You’ve done so much not only for Russian tennis, but for Russian sport.”
