Aryna Sabalenka was once renowned for her inability to control her emotions, but now is a far calmer and more successful player.
Naturally, her judgment does still get clouded at times, but for the most part, she is a mechanical and dominant force on the WTA Tour.
It takes a lot to unsettle her, but when she is disrupted, the outcome can be catastrophic.
Fortunately, this latest Indian Wells distraction did not involve her, but she was asked about it all the same.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts after a fan shouted on match point
Speaking at her press conference after her recent win over Jaqueline Cristian, Aryna Sabalenka was asked about somebody calling out on match point in another match.
A fan shouted, and the point was stopped, with the 27-year-old then asked if she was able to block out crowd noise whilst playing.
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She replied: “Most of the time, yes, but I mean, of course sometimes they can be really annoying, and I can hear them. But I can really recognize well if it’s my opponent or if it was from the crowd.
“Never happened to me, actually. I don’t know. I feel like in this case they should have just replayed the point because it was, I don’t know, the player got distracted by someone. I don’t know. That’s tricky.”
Then asked to expand on how calls from the crowd can distract the player, Sabalenka added: “It depends. If it’s like you’re about to make your shot and someone yelled super loud something, then yeah, you can get distracted, just like shocked by the noise, and then of course you can miss your shot.
“I feel like it’s on the referee to make sure that crowd doesn’t do that, or if they continue doing that, make sure that the person is not in the crowd anymore, because, yeah, it’s tricky in tennis.”
Aryna Sabalenka previews her match against Naomi Osaka
Regardless of this distraction, Sabalenka continued her near-perfect start to her campaign in Indian Wells.
However, she is set to face her sternest test yet, with Naomi Osaka up next.
Their Round of 16 clash marks the best match of that stage by some distance, with the two meeting for the first time since their 2018 US Open encounter, won by the Japanese superstar.
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Credit: Sofascore
Osaka spoke about having to face Sabalenka, whilst the Belarusian had already given her expectations in her press conference, before the clash was confirmed: “Well, it would be for sure a fashion show at the beginning. Then a crazy match. She’s a great player. Came back after pregnancy. Incredible shape. I have been watching her matches, really admire her.
“We played how many — I think we played only once, isn’t it?
“Oh, probably I’ll have a chance to get a revenge, hopefully.”
