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Aryna Sabalenka Fulfilled Late Father's Dream With Second Australian Open Victory

Sabalenka achieved her late father's goal for her career with the win.

Tim Capurso

Aryna Sabalenka Fulfilled Late Father's Dream With Second Australian Open Victory
Aryna Sabalenka Fulfilled Late Father's Dream With Second Australian Open Victory /

Aryna Sabalenka would have made her father proud with Saturday's achievement. 

Sabalenka, the world No. 2, defeated Zheng Qinwen to secure the 2024 Australian Open title, her second straight championship at Melbourne. But that wasn’t all the Belarusian tennis player accomplished with the victory. 

The Australian Open win was the second Grand Slam title of Sabalenka's career, which was a checkpoint she and her father Sergey, who passed away suddenly back in 2019, shared.

Sabalenka mentioned her father's ambitious goal in an interview after the match, per the WTA's account on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

“I lost my father four years ago,” Sabalenka told reporters afterward. “We had one dream: that before 25, I will win a couple of Grand Slams.”

Sabalenka then explained that there was a moment in her career where she didn’t believe she could win a Grand Slam, but that she had to keep fighting for the dream she and her father had. 

It's likely that Sabalenka will continue to add to her trophy case, given her rapid rise up the WTA rankings, as well as her aggressive serve and forehand. 

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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