Sabalenka, Plagued by Double-Faults, Has Hired a Special Biomechanic Coach to Help Her Serve

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday August 19, 2022

Aryna Sabalanka’s struggles with her serve in 2022 have been front and center, as the World No.2 has developed a bad cased of the yips and has been plagued by double-faults for much of the season.

She entered the week with over 300 double-faults to her name in 37 matches. It got so bad this January that Sabalenka, the current World No.7 who has held a career-high ranking of No.2, said the following after a match at the Australian Open.

“I’m really happy right now and mostly I’m happy that I made only 10 double faults.”

But help could be on the way in the form of a new biomechanic coach.

Sabalenka told reporters that she has been working with a new coach to help her shore up the troubled stroke.

Aryna Sabalenka has brought on a biomechanics specialist to help work on he serve. Says they’ve started to implement some adjustments. Leaving no stone unturned to try and find solutions.#CincyTennis

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 19, 2022

“I changed a lot on my serve,” she said. “I wouldn’t say the technique, I just worked with a biomechanic guy who is really good. He’s helping me as a coach with my serve, and we are working a lot on my serve and my game. So I think that’s why I kind of kept playing better.” Why did Sabalenka choose to bring on someone to help? Here’s how she explains it:

“Because we tried everything this season, and nothing really worked well for me with this serve,” she said. “I think we just were looking for something that can help me. There were a lot of things that I was doing wrong on my serve.

“Right now I think I’m on the right way to fix it. I’m working on a lot of stuff to fix my serve.” Whether it is due to the serve – and the new serve doctor – or not, Sabalenka is having a great week in Cincinnati, where she is into the semifinals and will face Caroline Garcia for a spot in the final.

Win or lose the Belarusian is showing that she’s committed to overcoming the challenges she has faced this season – and it bodes well for her long-term future.