US OPEN

September 2, 2026

Aryna Sabalenka

Press Conference

A. SABALENKA/P. Iatcenko

6-1, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Dominating performance. Moving on to the next round. We'll move right on to the questions.

Q. You've been on Ashe for the first two matches of this tournament, but you've actually been the player who's been the most matches on Armstrong in the past ten years. I'm wondering, are you surprised by that?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I love how you guys come up with, like, random stats. I'm not really thinking about that.

Q. You don't feel like -- Ashe versus Armstrong, do you have a preference?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I mean, obviously I have preference towards Ashe. What kind of question is that? But I like to play on Louis Armstrong, as well. Both stadiums have incredible atmosphere and incredible vibes, so I don't really mind, but I would prefer Ashe.

Q. I'm sort of curious, how are you finding your mood now that the tournament has started? Obviously last week it's lots of parties and fun and stuff like that. Are you --

ARYNA SABALENKA: You guys are, like, a joke. Parties, fun... like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? What kind of question is that? Just because I posted, like, some activities with brands, and you think that I've been partying, not training?

Q. I'm not suggesting that you're partying. I'm saying that there's a lot of --

ARYNA SABALENKA: The question, like, what is that?

Q. I'm saying that there are a lot of events and things like that. I'm not saying you go to the parties and that you're --

ARYNA SABALENKA: You literally said that.

Q. Excuse me?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Next question.

Q. For everyone who is unclear, I'm not suggesting that Aryna is having fun at these parties.

ARYNA SABALENKA: Thanks, yeah.

Q. I'm saying that she makes a lot of appearances and there's a lot to do and lots of events, okay?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Okay. Move on.

Q. So now that the tournament has started, do you find you're getting quite serious and combative?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Oh, yeah, I wasn't serious before that. Next question.

Q. Great performance today.

ARYNA SABALENKA: Think before you say stuff. Sorry. No, not you (smiling).

Q. Great performance today. You were pretty dominant throughout the entire match. I've noticed that sometimes, even in matches like today when you have a considerable lead, sometimes you can be a bit more frustrated with yourself when you make mistakes. Do you consider yourself a bit of a perfectionist? Then, also, how satisfied are you currently with your level?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I'm happy with my level. I've been working really hard, but I feel like I'm kind of, like, moving away from being -- trying to be perfect on court. I know that you cannot be perfect, and I'm just trying to work with what I have right now.

I'm pretty happy with the level. I'm happy with my focus. I'm happy that I'm able to focus on myself no matter what and being consistent with my focus.

Q. I just wanted to ask, because your outfit has been different during singles and in quallies. You matched the colors, the black and black and the orange and orange. I'm curious, is that always the idea, or is that an idea you changed midway? I think it was good.

ARYNA SABALENKA: No, no, to be honest, I didn't know that I have day session dress and a night session. They just send me -- at first they just send me black dress and orange undershirt and the bra. I thought that's the way to go, but then I figured that I have, like, day and night session outfits.

I prefer, like, matching the undercolor to the dress. Yeah, I love it.

Q. So is the first way, like, the mismatched way, not how it was supposed to be originally?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, yeah. I mean, the mixed doubles match you mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't think it looked really flattering. I feel like it looks much better matching colors.

Q. A moment ago you said you were happy with your level of play. This year, when were you happiest with your level of play, and how does this compare with that?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I would say it's the same. I think I struggled a little bit in the middle of the season. Once again, I'm not going to defend myself or explain why, what happened, but I'm happy with my level.

I can definitely say that mentally I'm way stronger than I was in the middle of the season, and physically I also feel stronger. So I feel like I'm on my level of play, and I just want to, you know, bring the right focus on the match every time.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about on-court interviews. Do you enjoy them? Are they fun, or are they useful? How do you see them?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I love -- I mean, it's fun. I just don't think that -- actually, I don't know. Maybe people listen to that. Sometimes it's like I'm struggling to hear what they say because of the audio, so I don't know if people actually hear what we are saying, but it's fun.

They bring some fun stuff, and they ask some fun questions there, so why not? It's cool.

Q. Do you have a favorite interviewer, one you always respond well to?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Oh, no, don't ask me that. I don't want to offend anyone. They all been pretty fun to me lately, so (laughing)...

Q. There's been a couple of late matches already, like Sascha had one. I remember you had one, I can't remember how many years ago, that was super late. On a night like this where you could be back in a hotel maybe by, I don't know, 9:30, what's different versus when you finish at 2:00 in the morning versus -- can you eat one more meal? Will you watch one more TV show? What's better or worse about it?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I mean, of course, I would prefer to finish earlier so I can have my easy evening, watch TV shows, you know, have an extra meal, lay in bed knowing that there is someone else still playing, and I can watch some tennis.

Yeah, when you finish late, it's just, like, the whole -- like the next day shifts a lot. Like, you still need to get your hours of sleep, so you start later. You just can really mess up with your schedule.

But, honestly, because we have a day off, it's okay. I can deal with, like, messing with my schedule the next day because I'm not playing.