Aryna Sabalenka’s journey to the top of women’s tennis has been nothing short of remarkable. Still, the Belarusian powerhouse has never shied away from admitting the battles she has fought behind the scenes. Recently, in a candid conversation with Jay Shetty, she was asked if she had ever considered giving up. In response to that, Sabalenka surprisingly opened up about how her career was nearly derailed by the same issue that is currently troubling the American star, Coco Gauff – serving woes.
If we backtrack her journey in 2022, Aryna Sabalenka began the season in Adelaide against Kaja Juvan, and 18 double faults cost her the match. A week later, she committed 21 double faults in a loss to qualifier Rebecca Peterson, and then at the AO, Sabalenka hit nine double faults in her first two service games and 12 in the first set, but still somehow managed to win her second-round match against Wang Xinyu. There was a point in time when she felt like, “Please, someone help me to fix this [expletive] serve. I’m sorry for swearing, but this is how it was.“ She ended that year with 428 double faults beside her name. Seeing her constantly battling with serves, her team brought in an expert in biomechanics, Gavin MacMillan. The most common perception was that Sabalenka’s double faults were a mental issue. But after watching hours of tape, MacMillan understood that that wasn’t the case, and the main problem lay in her left arm, i.e., the arm that tosses the ball.
Following a few corrections, the very next season reaped results. In 2023, Aryna Sabalenka hit 404 aces but committed just 285 double faults. It was the same year that she won her first Grand Slam title. Ever since then, her number of double faults in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons (so far) has never surpassed her number of aces. But during the Jay Shetty Podcast, while speaking on her double troubles, Aryna Sabalenka revealed, “There was a moment in my career. When was that? 3 years ago, when I was double-faulting. I couldn’t like serve, I don’t know what happened with me. Like I couldn’t serve. Just something happened, and it wouldn’t work, and I was still playing. And I actually ended up here in the Top 10 somehow without the serve, but I was really close to just quitting because I was like, I don’t know how to fix it.“
She revealed that she and her team had tried everything, be it her mental blockage or going through repetitions while practicing. Yet, all was in vain. To the point where she almost decided, “to quit.” But then she turned to biomechanics as her last resort, and according to Aryna Sabalenka, “he helped to understand some details.” Sabalenka continued, “It was the moment for me, like you know, to stay strong, to go through it, to like never give up…and I didn’t quit. After that, I was able to win my first Grand Slam…”
via Imago
Aryna Sabalenka turned her weakness into a stepping stone toward Grand Slam glory, and her confession serves as a reminder of just how mentally and technically taxing this recurring problem can be, even for the game’s brightest stars. Sabalenka’s revelation is similar to that of Coco Gauff’s current ordeal. The American had played 71 matches last season and had committed a staggering 430 double faults. In this season, Gauff has so far played 51 matches, but even here, the number of double faults (347) is still high!
In order to address her serving woes, she resorted to the same biomechanic expert who had helped Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff parted ways with Matthew Daly and sought Gavin MacMillan’s tutelage alongside her longtime coach, Jean-Christophe Faurel. But despite these turnarounds, Gauff’s struggle with her serve continued in the initial phases of the 2025 US Open. She committed 10 double faults in her first-round match and 8 in her second-round match against Donna Vekic. However, that second-round match left Gauff visibly devastated after a difficult first set in which she struggled badly with her serve, and it seemed as if she was feeling the pressure of the occasion.
Aryna Sabalenka’s statements, paired with Coco Gauff‘s reaction, sum up how mentally taxing these factors can be. Sabalenka has already overcome her serving woes, but still, there is a lot to improve for her as well. With time, Gauff’s improvement is also certain with the aid of biomechanics.