Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina reveals Aryna Sabalenka reached out to her in 2019 about the opportunity of them forming a partnership however in the end nothing occurred.
In late 2019 August, the Belarusian tennis star introduced she was parting methods with coach Dmitry Tursunov – who helped her take her recreation to a different degree and grow to be a longtime WTA participant. Shortly after the break up, Sabalenka was searching for an on the spot alternative and one of many candidates she had on her checklist was Safina.Â
After giving a name to the previous three-time Grand Slam finalist, the Russian tennis legend was just about advised that there was no time to waste and a collaboration would have to be reached shortly. Whereas the 38-year-old did not settle for the provide, she totally understood the present world No. 1.Â
Safina, who was simply 25 when she performed her final match in 2011, was requested by Championat if it was true that Sabalenka needed her as a coach and in addition if it was speculated to be one thing short-term.
“No, about full-fledged cooperation. We talked about Aryna in 2019, right before the US Open. She had just finished working with Dmitry Tursunov. And her agent called me and said that there was such an option, but she had to fly out immediately and start preparing for the US Open. I said that I couldn’t do that. But I understand Aryna, because I behaved the same way when I was a player. I also said: ‘I need a coach tomorrow!'” the previous two-time French Open finalist advised Championat.
Dinara Safina© Dinara Safina/Instagram – Honest Use
Â
After Safina handed on the prospect to grow to be Sabalenka’s coach, the Belarusian employed Anton Dubrov. They usually have been working since then and gained three Grand Slam titles as a duo. With that being mentioned, it’s truthful to state that in the end all of it labored out completely for the 26-year-old.
Safina shares Mirra Andreeva was an possibility too
Final yr, Andreeva was simply 15 when she gained three matches on the WTA 1000 event in Madrid. A couple of weeks later, the rising Russian additionally made the French Open third spherical as a qualifier earlier than falling quick to Coco Gauff in a three-set battle.
Since then, Andreeva – who turned 17 in Could – has established herself as one of the crucial gifted and promising gamers on the WTA Tour, with many tipping her to win a number of Grand Slams and grow to be the world No. 1 someday.
And when she was simply beginning her WTA journey, her agent gave a name Safina to see if there was curiosity in working with the present world No. 16. The previous world No. 1 thought it was “a great” provide however she merely could not commit herself to touring with somebody for 12 months.Â
“They were looking for a coach for Mirra. Her agent called many specialists, asked if there was a desire, and then they offered ready-made coaches to Andreeva for her to choose. They called me too, I said that it sounded great, but I was not ready to skate with Mirra all over the world (smiles) . Of course, it would have been an interesting option, but in the end, Conchita [Martinez] works with her ― she’s great. She’s the coach who helps Mirra a lot,” Safina defined.
After making that revelation, the 2008 and 2009 French Open finalist was requested what she would attempt to add to Andreeva’s recreation if she had the prospect to take action.Â
“She doesn’t need to add many nuances, literally bit by bit. Cut the corner a little more somewhere, meet the ball a little earlier somewhere, use a little more shortened ones. Well, and we could add more combinations that she would perform automatically at decisive moments,” the 38-year-old defined.Â
Safina shares her tackle the state of the WTA Tour
In the course of the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the previous Russian tennis star made three Grand Slam finals – two on the French Open (misplaced to Ana Ivanovic in 2008 and to Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009) and she or he was additionally overwhelmed by Serena Williams within the 2009 Australian Open last. Additionally, she had semifinal appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open.Â
When requested about how she feels concerning the present state of the Tour, Safina mentioned that she believes the highest gamers from her time have been far more constant.Â
“In my time, there were more consistent players. There were Serena and Venus Williams, Davenport, Mauresmo, Henin, Sharapova, Clijsters and so on. All were consistent all year round, they rarely had easy losses. The top 10 was very tight, you couldn’t touch the girls. And now someone can fail three or four tournaments and then return to the top 10. Now there is Gauff, Pegula, but they are all inconsistent. Only Sabalenka and Swiatek played the whole season almost without slumps,” Safina mentioned.
