Sabalenka's goal to make Belarus proud
World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka is a fierce competitor when wearing her country’s colours and she wants nothing more than to make Belarus proud when she takes to the courts at Tokyo 2020.
The 23-year-old, who has competed in Billie Jean King Cup every year since her debut in 2016, is excited to add an Olympic Tennis Event to her already burgeoning CV, but putting on a good show on behalf of Belarus is all that matters.
“It’s my first Olympic Games and I’m really looking forward [to it],” she said. “This is something new for me. I would say this is the new challenge and I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’m really happy to represent my country, my people and I want to do everything I can to make sure that Belarus is proud of me. I want to represent my country as strong people who can fight through everything.”
Having reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 earlier this year, Sabalenka already has two titles to her name in 2021 and said that she would do everything she could to make her dream come true of finishing with a medal around her neck in Tokyo.
Just talking about the tennis event gave her goose bumps.
“I’m looking forward for the Games, for the fight, for representing my country,” she added. “This is something unbelievable and I can’t really think about this.”
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Tennis Event starts on Friday 24 July, with the medal matches scheduled to take place on 30 July-1 August.