US OPEN CHAMPION Aryna Sabalenka EXCLUSIVE: Transforming Doubt, Pressure & Loss into HUGE Success

How do you usually handle self-doubt? How do you find your confidence again? Today, Jay welcomes two-time U. S. Open Champion Aryna Sabalenka just days after her incredible victory. Aryna opens up about what it truly feels like to lift the trophy again, not only as a moment of triumph, but as a deep release after seasons of heartbreak and near misses. She reflects on the sting of falling short in Grand Slam finals and the heavy weight of being labeled the favorite, sharing how those setbacks forced her to grow into a calmer, more emotionally balanced competitor. Aryna’s honesty about pain, pressure, and resilience gives a rare glimpse into the mindset of a true champion. The conversation dives deep into the mental battles that shape elite performances. Aryna opens up about her relationship with nerves, the self-talk that carries her through the grind of a Grand Slam, and the inner dialogue she’s learned to trust. Rather than resisting fear or doubt, she has learned to accept them, turning vulnerability into strength. Aryna also highlights the critical role of gratitude, choosing to see the pressure of competition as a privilege rather than a burden. Through stories of her father’s encouragement and his lasting influence, Aryna illustrates how her drive is not only for personal success, but also to honor his legacy. In this interview, you'll learn: How to Use Self-Talk to Stay Focused How to Celebrate Your Wins Without Guilt How to Balance Pressure With Gratitude How to Keep Showing Up When It’s Hard How to Surround Yourself With the Right People How to Build Confidence Step by Step Success isn’t only about reaching the finish line, it’s about the discipline of showing up, the courage to keep going when it’s difficult, and the willingness to celebrate even the small wins along the way. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 00:56 How Does It Feel To Win… Again? 01:46 Toughest Moments Up to This Point 02:31 Lessons Learned From Defeat 05:19 Preparing for the Pressure 07:21 Inside the Mind of a Champion 10:47 What is The Hardest Part of Being at the Top? 12:26 The Importance of Celebration 16:51 How Did You Find Tennis? 18:52 What Inspires You? 21:55 A Champion’s Morning Routine 25:59 Balancing Work and Personal Life 26:58 Fighting for Equality in Sports 29:13 The Role of Fashion in Confidence 30:54 Turning Grief Into Strength 36:01 How Do You Define Love? 37:15 Why Discipline Defines Success 39:55 Have You Ever Wanted to Give Up? 41:13 The Purpose of Hard Challenges 43:03 Unique Rituals and Habits 45:09 Who is Your Toughest Opponent? 47:05 The Power of Having the Right People by Your Side 53:02 Favorite Sports Beyond Tennis 54:09 Mastering Your Time 56:07 The Value of Rest and Recovery 58:06 Battle of the Sexes 01:00:26 Aryna on Final Five Episode Resources: Aryna Sabalenka | YouTube Aryna Sabalenka | Instagram Aryna Sabalenka | Facebook Aryna Sabalenka | TikTok See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jay Shetty?

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• 0:44Jay Shetty?

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• 1:29Jay Shetty?

  to learn more and get your first class free. Orange Theory Fitness, helping people live longer, more vibrant lives. Terms and conditions apply. See webpage in studio for details. This episode is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is the chance to step outside of our routine. Travel is a way of slowing us down and shifting our perspective. And with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, every journey becomes even more rewarding. Earn four times the points on flights and hotels booked direct. Enjoy access to award-winning airport lounges, three times the points on dining, and reserve exclusive tables. Learn more at chase.com/sapphirereserve.

• 2:14Jay Shetty?

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• 2:25Speaker 01

  There have been heartbreaking losses for Sabalenka this year. Through all of the emotions she felt that she must compose, richly deserved win. Arena Sabalenka gets her Grand Slam title and another US Open trophy.

• 2:46Speaker 02

  The number one health and wellness podcast.

• 2:49Speaker 03

  Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. The one, the only Jay Shetty.

• 2:55Jay Shetty?

  Arena Sabalenka, congratulations. I am so excited to have you here. I've been looking forward to this for such a long time. I got to be at the game on Saturday. You were absolutely incredible. I can't believe we have you here. Forty-eight hours after you just won this incredible trophy, the US Open, women's final was unbelievable. Congrats and thank you for doing this.

• 3:17Speaker 04

  Thank you for having me. I think I'm more excited than you. I've been watching your podcast and following you for, I don't know, for how long. So I'm probably more excited than you.

• 3:28Jay Shetty?

  That feels really good to me, the fact that you watch it. It means the world to me, but honestly, I've been really excited. Watching you live, there was nothing like it. The attitude, the personality, the amazing sportsmanship, like just incredible play. It was fantastic to watch, truly.

• 3:45Speaker 04

  Yeah, it was a great match and I'm really, really happy that you enjoyed watching it and yeah, you had fun.

• 3:50Jay Shetty?

  How does it feel when you're winning Grand Slam after Grand Slam? This is the second time you've won the US Open in a row. Does it feel different from the first time? Does it feel the same? Like what goes through your mind and heart?

• 4:01Speaker 04

  Like every time you win the Grand Slam, every time is an incredible feeling and every time is just, you feel like it's the biggest thing that happened to you and I feel like it's all depends on the situation in life and stuff because this season I struggled a lot. So I feel like this time it feels like it happened for the first time, you know, like it's like my first Grand Slam. So it's a big moment and I feel like relieved after getting this beauty.

• 4:32Jay Shetty?

  Absolutely, thank you for bringing it here.

• 4:33Speaker 04

  Of course, of course, what I mean.

• 4:35Jay Shetty?

  This is the first trophy ever on on purpose. So this is a special moment.

• 4:39Speaker 04

  Happy to be the first one.

• 4:40Jay Shetty?

  What were you, what were you struggling with this year? Like when you say like, I was struggling this year, that's why it feels like a relief. What were you struggling with? Like, what were you going through?

• 4:48Speaker 04

  Yeah, I mean, I played early in the season, I played two Grand Slam finals in Australia and in Paris. And I lost those two finals and I, like, they consider me favorite. So I kind of like, you know, I thought that I felt like, okay, it's coming my way. I was so excited, but then I would lose in the final. And I was sort of like really sad and like it was really tough to go through those tough lessons, tough losses and, and getting this, this trophy means a lot. It means that I learned the lesson, I became a better player. I have better control over my emotions and I'm super happy that I was able to win this trophy.

• 5:25Jay Shetty?

  Obviously, you've just won and we'll talk about that. I want to know, what do you do when you lose? Because losing is so much harder.

• 5:32Speaker 04

  It hurts.

• 5:32Jay Shetty?

  It's so much more painful, it hurts so deeply.

• 5:34Speaker 04

  It hurts.

• 5:35Jay Shetty?

  What do you do? Do you analyze the game? Do you feel angry? Like, what are the emotions that you go through when you've lost a game, lost a final?

• 5:44Speaker 04

  A final, you know, I think it's all about like losing in the final, it hurts more. Because you know, you're getting so close to your dream. And then it's like, it feels like it's sort of like slips away, if I can say like that. So you, you're really depressed and me personally, I want to leave the place as soon as possible, just so I like forget it. But then I need like some time to sit back, to analyze, to like, you know, to, to actually learn the lesson. So it takes some time to process the losses.

• 6:16Jay Shetty?

  How long before you can watch the game back when you've lost?

• 6:20Speaker 04

  I have to be honest, I, I never watched my like finals that I lost. I let my team do that and bring me on the plate, okay, you like, you did this, this and this wrong. I know like mentally, emotionally what I did wrong and where I made the mistake in like, the way I approached the, the final or what was my mindset. I know this part, but like the tennis part, I let my team figure it, then they bring it, they tell me I remember because I don't want to watch it. I don't want to see myself there losing. And of course, like the finals that I lost earlier this season, I was like. Not behaving my best and I hate seeing myself being not not the kindest person. So I never watch my.

• 7:04Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, that's really interesting. I I also imagine when you're watching yourself back, it can kind of make you repeat that behavior sometimes as well. Like it's like if you

• 7:12Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 7:13Jay Shetty?

  If you watch something closely enough, you almost like you keep pushing the wound. It's like you keep pressing on that.

• 7:18Speaker 04

  Yes, yes.

• 7:19Jay Shetty?

  That makes sense.

• 7:20Speaker 04

  Exactly. You just want to learn it, you know, like make sure that it's never gonna happen again and forget it like like a nightmare because yeah, I feel like watching it back, it just triggered that, you know, that that pain and something that you wanted to forget badly. So I feel like for me, for for my mental health is better not to watch it.

• 7:41Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Who's the first person after you win or lose that you wanna talk to, that you wanna hug, that you wanna call? Like who's?

• 7:49Speaker 04

  I run to my team straight away. I run to my team because I know the the work they they they put it in for this win. So I run there and I I hug my boyfriend first, of course, then my team. And because I know how much of of a work they've done to uh to make sure that I'm able to compete on such a high level. And then and then I message my family.

• 8:13Jay Shetty?

  Nice. Yeah, let me talk to me about, we were just talking about this offline. You were just saying, you know, this morning you're on the Today Show, you're like, you you I'm sure you have a million interviews to do today. It's been forty eight hours since you've won. But like people forget that these tournaments are played in like these really tight timeframes. Like this was two weeks, right? US Open.

• 8:32Speaker 04

  Yeah, two weeks.

• 8:33Jay Shetty?

  It's really intense. You're playing all these games, multiple sets, really challenging, like the pressure's all compressed into this short timeline. Like, talk to us about the preparation as a team, as an individual, for the intensity of the two weeks that the games are being played in.

• 8:50Speaker 04

  Well, yeah, I mean, we also have tournaments that leads to the to the Grand Slam. And then you have like a week before the Grand Slam where you come to the place where you're gonna compete and you practice, train, but also you have a lot of um. Like brand dinners, like meetings, some interviews as well. So people doesn't know that before the Grand Slam, there is like a week, um, really busy week, full of uh, uh, meetings, dinners, um, and, and this, this kind of stuff, which is also not easy to handle. And, and also you're training during that period. And then the tournament starts and there is another pressure which we deal with.

• 9:35Speaker 04

  But the preparation, it's all about, you know, of course physically, there is like tennis, there is gym, there is fitness, all of this stuff. But also mentally, you're preparing yourself for like really tough two weeks. Two weeks of uh, great tennis, hopefully, because you never know. But also two weeks of fighting, like fighting for your dream. And like mentally, you have this constant conversation in your head. Like you're gonna do that, you're capable of it, you're strong enough. So you like really, I feel like if someone would hear like my conversation in my head throughout like this three weeks period, they would think that, okay, this, this is something like, something wrong with this person, because it's constant conversation.

• 10:16Jay Shetty?

  Talk to us about that self-talk, because I think we forget that right now, we're all so obsessed with the conversation online. Like we're looking at what Twitter's saying, X is saying, we're looking at what?

• 10:27Speaker 04

  Social media.

• 10:27Jay Shetty?

  Even on social media, and then you forget

• 10:29Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 10:29Jay Shetty?

  that the real conversation is happening inside the champion's head.

• 10:33Speaker 04

  Exactly, yeah.

• 10:33Jay Shetty?

  Walk us through what that conversation looks like. Like what are the ups and downs, what are the shifts in that inner dialogue?

• 10:39Speaker 04

  Well, I mean, I think it's absolutely normal to feel nervous before big tournaments. And I, I think that every athlete feel nervous. Every athlete dub, uh, doubting his, um, I don't know, ability. Will he be able to do that again? Or like how it's gonna go? Because you never know, like, uh, sport is such a beautiful thing that you go out there and you don't know how you're gonna feel. Will the, will the game works? Like, will, will you feel great or better? Or what, what you, you have to deal with? Because, you know, people look from the outside and they doesn't, doesn't know. For example, I don't feel my surf like, I don't like, I feel uncomfortable doing something on court and I have to like deal with that. So before the tournament, I prepare myself that I am ready to handle anything.

• 11:24Speaker 04

  Like I'm just talking that it's normal. I'm just trying to kind of like settle those, those like thoughts in my head. Not by trying to like. Make them go away, because I feel like the moment when you try to make things go away, they actually like growing more and it's it's like more and it's uh not easy to handle. So I'm just trying to tell myself it's okay to feel that, it's okay to think that, it's absolutely okay. Everyone thinks that it's all about you going out there and fighting no matter what and like constantly having this conversation in your head throughout two weeks. It's tough.

• 11:59Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 12:00Speaker 04

  It's tough, but but I kinda like love it.

• 12:03Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 12:05Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, you've you've learned to enjoy it.

• 12:06Speaker 04

  No, I'm just so grateful to have opportunity to experience of that of all of that. Not everyone have this opportunity in life, so I'm just so grateful and I big opportunities is also like big uh uh big responsibility, big pressure. But not everyone have that opportunity, so you gotta be grateful for that.

• 12:28Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, that's beautiful. I you reminded me of that famous quote that says what you resist persists.

• 12:33Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 12:33Jay Shetty?

  That idea that if you're trying to get rid of a thought or trying to get rid of a feeling, it just expands.

• 12:39Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 12:40Jay Shetty?

  And it takes up more space and as soon as you accept it.

• 12:42Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 12:43Jay Shetty?

  You're fine. When you reject it, it just gets bigger, it gets harder.

• 12:46Speaker 04

  Yeah, rejection, that's not the key.

• 12:48Jay Shetty?

  Absolutely. When when you accept that, of course, of course, it's natural to feel nervous, of course.

• 12:53Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 12:53Jay Shetty?

  Everyone's feeling uncomfortable, everyone's feeling stressed out. All of a sudden, it kind of calms you.

• 12:58Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 12:59Jay Shetty?

  Whereas when you think that, oh, I'm the only one.

• 13:01Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 13:01Jay Shetty?

  Everyone else looks so calm and confident, but I'm stressed out. That's why we all get.

• 13:06Speaker 04

  I think that was my like my main mistake when I was just like starting playing tennis. I I thought that I'm the only one who feel that and I would like focus too much on that. So I would forget about like my opponent and I would struggle a lot at the beginning of my career. But then the moment when I realized like and I that everyone experienced that and I start see that in my opponent and I was like, okay, then it's normal. Then we're both in the same situation, we're both dealing with the same things and it's all about who's gonna do that better. So it's actually like a trick, I feel like uh like my intrigue, like just accept it.

• 13:41Jay Shetty?

  Hmm. Yeah. What what's the what's the hardest thing about being a champion, about being number one for you?

• 13:49Speaker 04

  I don't know. I don't know. It's hard. I mean,

• 13:54Speaker 04

  I think there is nothing, like when you call someone like champion, when you hear the champion is like, how can I actually complain about anything? Like if you're like, if you won like a trophy, like there is nothing to complain about.

• 14:06Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Yeah. I loved when you came out after you've won and you had the champagne bottle. You had the, I was like, I was like, that sponsor must be really happy arena like. I was like, that was like the best reaction ever.

• 14:20Speaker 04

  I should have came with the, with the tequila because I sponsored by tequila. No champagne, but, but you know, you gotta celebrate it. You gotta enjoy it because, you know, the hard work is done. Now it's time to, you know, celebrate it.

• 14:35Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Yeah. I was thinking, I was thinking about the moment. I don't know if you remember that tournament where Ronaldo hid the Coca-Cola and he put the water up. Did you ever see that interview? So this is a press conference a few years ago and it was Cristiano Ronaldo football player. And they'd put Coca-Cola in front of him and he put it away and he said, drink water, don't drink Coca-Cola. And Coca-Cola's stock price went down that day. Like it was crazy. So I was like, you just took Moet champagne's like stock price must have like gone up and.

• 15:03Speaker 04

  Probably. We need to check it out.

• 15:05Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. The ski goggles too. I was like, it was amazing.

• 15:07Speaker 04

  That was so funny. I didn't know that I'm gonna look that funny.

• 15:11Jay Shetty?

  You look great.

• 15:11Speaker 04

  I just came straight from the locker room where they sprayed like, I don't know how much of a bottle of champagne on me was, it was, it was a fun moment.

• 15:19Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. I think celebrate, do you know what? I, I was so happy to hear you say, I want to celebrate, I want to have fun because I think we forget and sometimes you need to see the number one person in the world say, I need to celebrate because I think this applies to everyone. Wherever you are at your stage in life, we don't celebrate any milestones.

• 15:39Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 15:39Jay Shetty?

  And then when you don't see the people at the top celebrate, you kind of think, oh, well, what, what permission do I have to celebrate? So I feel like you gave everyone permission to say, you know what? It's okay.

• 15:48Speaker 04

  Well, you have to, exactly. You have to celebrate. Absolutely. Especially when you, in my case, like losing the finals, losing some tough, some tough matches. Dealing with some struggles, you know, when you finally able to win something big for you. I think it's important to celebrate that moment because you never know when this moment gonna gonna happen again. So you you you have to celebrate. It doesn't matter in which industry in life you are. Uh whatever achievement you achieve, like you have to go and and and just have a little moment for yourself.

• 16:21Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Do you do you take a moment to yourself as well to celebrate on your own? Like, what does that look like? What does that personal celebration look like?

• 16:28Speaker 04

  I usually celebrate with my team, with the people around me, because, you know, it's not like it was done only by me, you know, I I've done it with the help of people. So I feel like it's it's not only my trophy, it's our trophy. But my celebration is like one again in my head. I just tell myself, okay, I'm proud. I'm proud to to be able to handle uh have this trophy.

• 16:51Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I think it's important to have that inner celebration as well.

• 16:55Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 16:56Jay Shetty?

  Because I love that you just said that. I sit down and go, I'm proud to have this trophy. Like, I feel like we're constantly looking for validation outside. And when you win something like this, of course, the whole world that loves tennis and loves you is validating you, which is a beautiful feeling.

• 17:10Speaker 04

  Of course.

• 17:10Jay Shetty?

  But I love that you said that you actually sit there and say, I'm proud of this trophy for myself, because I feel like that inner validation is something no one can take away from you and something that stays with you long after.

• 17:20Speaker 04

  Yeah, because like only I know like what I had to go through, how tough it was and how it all started and, you know, like, this is important to, you know, appreciate it.

• 17:34Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, it's beautiful. I want to go back, Aryna, because I feel like I was watching a lot of your interviews when I was preparing for this. And I know we've been messaging for a while on Instagram too. And so I was thinking about it. I was like, I actually don't think a lot of people know your journey and know your story that deeply. I think people know a little bit here and there, but on on purpose, that's what we like to do. We love to know how people found their purpose, became, yeah, became who they were. And so I wanted to ask you, like, what is a childhood memory that you have? Or a memory that you can recall that you feel defines who you are today, that has impacted the person that you are today?

• 18:09Speaker 04

  You know, I have so many great memories. But I remember watching my dad being really like funny guy, the guy who would just, you know. Make everyone feel happy and smile and I would, I remember I would just look at him and think, oh my god, I wanna become this kind of person, being like, just like a positive person, like the person who brings like positive vibes everywhere she goes. So I think that's why I'm like quite, I have this quite funny personality.

• 18:38Jay Shetty?

  Is that where that playfulness comes from?

• 18:41Speaker 04

  Uh, yeah.

• 18:41Jay Shetty?

  Watching your dad?

• 18:42Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah. And another story, but this story, it's not like I remember that, but I think it's perfectly shows my personality. When I was a kid and someone came to me because I was grunting while hitting the ball and someone came to me calling me Sharapova and I looked at the person saying like, no, I'm future Sabalenka. I was a kid. I was like, what, nine or, or 10? And saying that, I was just like, when, when my, my mom told me the story, I kinda like was proud of myself.

• 19:13Jay Shetty?

  I love it. And, and to me, it's all your, even when I was watching you on Saturday, to me, it's all your micro-expressions. Like you just have this face that can just like make so many different angles and faces and I'm like just watching you just, I was telling you about a moment earlier as well, like Amanda played an amazing shot the other day and, and you just like turned around and you were like clapping it on the side and I was like.

• 19:35Speaker 04

  It was a great shot.

• 19:36Jay Shetty?

  It was a great shot. It was amazing. It was just, it's all these micro things. But you're saying your dad inspired all of this, like that?

• 19:42Speaker 04

  Yeah, my personality, I think hundred percent comes from my dad.

• 19:45Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. And he was also the one who introduced you to tennis as well.

• 19:48Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 19:49Jay Shetty?

  Walk me through that. How did he discover tennis? How did he introduce it to you?

• 19:52Speaker 04

  It's actually by, not like accident, but he was just like trying to find some activity for me because I was a very active kid and he wanted me to be busy and to do stuff. And he was trying to find a sport for me and he was just like passing by the tennis court. He was like, well, why not just try it?

• 20:10Jay Shetty?

  Wow.

• 20:10Speaker 04

  So I tried it and I loved it and that's how it started.

• 20:13Jay Shetty?

  That's crazy. Was, was he good at tennis?

• 20:16Speaker 04

  No, no, no. He used to play ice hockey, but then he had a bike crash. So, uh, he was afraid to come back in sport.

• 20:23Jay Shetty?

  Oh, wow.

• 20:24Speaker 04

  So, yeah.

• 20:24Jay Shetty?

  It was a quite a bad injury that you?

• 20:25Speaker 04

  It was a very bad injury. He barely survived when he was 18 or 19.

• 20:29Jay Shetty?

  Oh, god.

• 20:30Speaker 04

  So, and since then, he didn't want to come back to sport because he was afraid that it was, it will affect his health.

• 20:36Jay Shetty?

  Did he do anything to help you feel confident about tennis? Or what was that relationship like? Because I heard in another interview, you said. You said it was quite funny that you didn't actually think you got good at tennis until you were like sixteen seventeen years old.

• 20:49Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 20:49Jay Shetty?

  And so that's a long time. If you started playing tennis quite early and you only felt really good at sixteen seventeen, what was happening between that age when you started playing?

• 20:58Speaker 04

  No, but I was I was pretty good. I was winning these local tournaments all the time. I was pretty good and my dad would always just say, just as long as you just go out there and you fight and you give your your best, you're good. He didn't care like if I win or lose. So he was like a really great supporter. Uh, but I realized at sixteen seventeen that I can be maybe good like internationally, you know, like going going for those uh. Back then it was like ten thousand event, like a women's sport, you know, like WTA. It started like, actually, I think it was like ITF or something like because I started from like ten thousand, twenty five, fifty, one hundred. So like slowly my my way to WTA tennis.

• 21:38Speaker 04

  So yeah, back then I I thought like maybe maybe I can go can be good when you compare yourself to like other athletes. So so that's why I probably am.

• 21:46Jay Shetty?

  Who did you grow up watching? Who were the people that you admired? Because you already said you're like, no, I'm gonna be future Sabalenka.

• 21:52Speaker 04

  You know, it's so funny because I think back then it wasn't that much of a social media. So I didn't have like uh like an iPhone, you know, to go to Instagram and and and watch other athletes. And I was just like, I was training the whole, I was going to school, I was training. And then I was just like having fun with my friends outside. So I I was never like watching TV or or any internet much. So I didn't really look up to someone, you know, like, of course, I I've seen like Serena dominating like there and there. So and I I was like thinking like, I wish I could become uh. Like like her one day, you know.

• 22:31Speaker 04

  So but no, I wasn't like really look looking up to someone and like this question question makes me feel really terrible as a person like I feel like everyone have their like idols, someone they look up to and I I never have someone. But I think the answer is just like because we didn't have the social media. We didn't have like something that you just grow up and you look and okay, and you see this this life.

• 22:53Jay Shetty?

  No, I I mean, I I didn't I didn't want to make you feel bad by asking you.

• 22:57Speaker 04

  No, no, you didn't make me bad.

• 22:58Jay Shetty?

  And I don't know. And I I almost think there's something beautiful about it because I think. Sometimes, sometimes watching people can inspire us, but sometimes not having that can actually help you find yourself.

• 23:09Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 23:10Jay Shetty?

  Like not having access, even, I mean, when I was growing up, I'm, I'm ten years older than you, but when I was growing up, I was reading books about people because I couldn't follow them on social media either. So I read David Beckham's autobiography when I was like sixteen, seventeen years old. And then I read Steve Jobs's biography much later.

• 23:27Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 23:27Jay Shetty?

  And so I was reading about people that I was fascinated by at a young age, but I didn't get to watch clips of them or, or whatever else it may be. And I think there's something beautiful about that because then you get to define who you are. And sometimes you can get caught comparing yourself to people. I think social media has made it so hard for young athletes or young anyone.

• 23:46Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah.

• 23:46Jay Shetty?

  You're looking at everyone going, I wish I was more like that. I wish I looked like that. I wish I had that game, you know, and so. It's kind of nice to not have that actually sometimes because you're free.

• 23:56Speaker 04

  It's, it's a good and a bad thing at the same time, right? Like you, you see more stuff, you learn more, but at the same time you can compare yourself to people and, and then feel bad about yourself for some reason. So it's like, it can bring like a really strong insecurity in you. So, I don't know. I think it's important to find something that you love, you truly love, not like because you see like a social media post and you think, oh, I wanna, I wanna live that life, but do you really? You know, you have to find some, something that you love. And I think if you do what you love and you passion and you dedicate your life to that and you do everything you can to become successful in any area. I think that's, that's the, the way to go, you know?

• 24:34Jay Shetty?

  Well said, yeah, absolutely. I feel like it's so, because winning the trophy is one percent of your life. The other ninety-nine percent is what we don't see. We're just seeing the two weeks of the tournaments or whatever it may be.

• 24:47Speaker 04

  But it's the whole life.

• 24:48Jay Shetty?

  It's the waking up, it's the, walk me through your morning routine. Like what does your routine look like? How do you set yourself up?

• 24:55Speaker 04

  During the tournament?

• 24:56Jay Shetty?

  Do me a game day and a non-game day.

• 24:58Speaker 04

  Well, the game day depends on the match once again, but I like to slip in. I need to have a good recovery. Uh, but then I take it easy if it's like a evening match. I take it easy. I do like some mobility in the gym, like to wake me up. I mean, of course, breakfast before lunch, then I go on site. I do my warm up again. I do tennis hit. And and then there's a match game and when it's a not much day, then it's like even a longer sleep, later wake up and um easy start, a little bit of a heat. And then it's a treatment, recovery process, and then it's a dinner. I love to go out for dinners.

• 25:39Jay Shetty?

  Nice. Did I read somewhere that you meditate as well or have tried before? Do you practice any sort of meditation or work with a sports psychologist as well?

• 25:46Speaker 04

  I worked with the sports psychologist for um four or five years.

• 25:51Jay Shetty?

  Wow.

• 25:51Speaker 04

  We did some sort of meditation, uh uh we did, yeah, we did a lot of uh things um at the beginning of my career. Uh but then you know what I found that I was relying on her so much, she was a woman, I I was relying on her so much. So I I was expect expecting her to fix my problems, like my emotions. So and I and I was like repeating the same mistake over and over again and I was like getting upset about that. So at some point I decided, okay, I have to take responsibility uh over my actions and I stopped working with psychologists and that was the moment when I start like

• 26:32Speaker 04

  learning about myself, when I actually um understood myself better. And I start I I start to control my emotions much better and I felt like more balanced when I like took that responsibility.

• 26:46Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 26:46Speaker 04

  So it was, I think for me personally, was it was a great move, but you never know, like maybe one day I'm gonna come back to uh get back to um psychology, meditation and and all of that stuff.

• 26:59Jay Shetty?

  I think that's the right process though with anything. I feel like it's learn.

• 27:02Speaker 04

  Learn, yeah.

• 27:03Jay Shetty?

  And then you have to go lead yourself. And it's learn and then lead yourself. And I think the challenge is if you constantly remain a student, then you're always dependent. And I think anything we become dependent on controls us. And then we're subject to how good we feel that day. But when you learn something and then you go and try it and you practice it and you apply it, then you get to see whether you actually internalized it. And so I think that is a good process. I feel like for anyone who's practicing any sort of Coaching, therapy, psychology, it's great to be able to learn and then go test all the stuff in the real world and then see where it goes back rather than keep it there forever because then you're almost, someone's holding your hand the whole time and then you just keep holding tighter and tighter and tighter.

• 27:44Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's good to like, you know, go back and forth, like work with psychologists, but then go out there and, and try to figure it by, by your, by yourself. And then the moment you feel like you need to talk to someone and you need to find some, yeah, some, some answers. So yeah, it's, it's a, it's always a learning process, right? Like as long as it's good for you, it's great.

• 28:16Jay Shetty?

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• 28:55Jay Shetty?

  credit at indeed.com/podcast. That's indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.

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• 29:37Jay Shetty?

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• 30:22Jay Shetty?

  Visit MazdaUSA.com to learn more. Consumer Reports does not endorse products or services.

• 30:38Jay Shetty?

  How would the people that know you, beyond tennis, personally, deeply, intimately, how would they describe you? What would they say about you?

• 30:46Speaker 04

  Oh, I don't like to talk about myself, but I feel like they would, they would say that I'm very kind, funny, of course, and very generous. And I think, I mean, yeah, I think that's, that's how they would describe me. I mean, that's what I hope they're gonna describe.

• 31:01Jay Shetty?

  That's what, we'll have to check with them.

• 31:03Speaker 04

  Maybe they're gonna just say, okay, you know what, she's crazy. Like, you better just stay away. Who knows? But I, that's, that's my hopes.

• 31:10Jay Shetty?

  Funny, kind and generous is a good, it's a good, good three. I like this.

• 31:16Speaker 04

  I see myself, but reality is different.

• 31:19Jay Shetty?

  We'll, we'll check afterwards.

• 31:20Speaker 04

  Yeah, let's just ask them, yeah.

• 31:22Jay Shetty?

  Ask a few people. Have to ask a few people. How much does your life off the court, in your personal life, impact your life on the court?

• 31:29Speaker 04

  Well, I think, anyway, everything, it's, you know, kind of like, works together. So, um, but I think it's all about like balancing your off the court and on the court life. Cause I feel like on the court, I'm like really aggressive. I'm so focused. I'm like, I'm just chasing my dreams, so. I feel like people who doesn't know me, they can, they can say that I'm super crazy person and super aggressive on and off the court, but it's not who I am. I feel like off the court, I'm, I'm, I'm more fun and I love to have fun and, you know, you have to balance. You have to like put the hard work in, but also you have to go and, and, and enjoy and do things that brings you, brings you joy.

• 32:09Speaker 04

  Because then, when you feel, feel balanced and feel like you enjoying your life, then you, you, you're able to go out there and to, you know, bring everything you have and to fight and to, to be focused.

• 32:22Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I feel, I feel tennis has done so much. Hopefully to start leveling the playing field with men and women. Have you ever felt that divide personally while playing? Like, do you feel the pressure that everyone in the media puts on the sports? Of like, you know, men and women are not equal, there's this challenge, like, have you felt that? Or do you feel you, that doesn't really cross your mind? How do you process that?

• 32:45Speaker 04

  I'm trying not to focus on that because I just try to represent women's sport the best way possible. And of course, we are all fighting for equal prize money and everything. But also at the end of the day, it's all about who brings the, who brings the show? Who brings people into the sport? But I think like now the prize money is equal. Everything is getting closer and closer between man and woman. So I, of course, I love it and that's what women athletes are fighting for. Thank you, Billie Jean King, for, you know, fighting for us. I agree that we deserve to be paid the same. Of course, like the level is different just because of the physical abilities. But the, the, the work that we put in is, it's equal to the work that they putting.

• 33:30Speaker 04

  Of course, the level can be different, but it just, it's life. That's, that's man, man meant to be a stronger than woman, so.

• 33:39Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, but it's interesting to hear that you don't think about it because I think that's, because I guess you've just got to focus on playing the game.

• 33:46Speaker 04

  Yeah, you cannot, you know, focus on many things. You just got to focus on yourself and bring the best, best of you. And, and of course, try to fight for having like equal prize money, to be like closer to what men are earning and, and that stuff. And I think like actually lately, like women's tennis, especially tennis, women's tennis, it's.

• 34:16Speaker 04

  More fun to watch, like more people coming, like attending, people speak more about that. Maybe it's like fashion related because it's such a fashionable sport right now. Um, but I feel like we are getting really close to men.

• 34:29Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, I, I think it's been brilliant. I think the sport's done a great job at trying to move in the right direction for a long time. And Billie Jean King, as you said, has been such a reason for that. It's been amazing. So it's incredible. Talk to us about the fashion because you're, as soon as you put your like outfit on that day and you put the silver jacket on and like, I was like, Aryna's like going for it. Like, how much, how much fun do you get to have with all of that?

• 34:51Speaker 04

  I love it. You know, I love fashion. I love, uh, you know, I love experimenting with, uh, with, uh, with my looks and stuff. And for me, it's important, you know, to look good on court, uh, to feel good about myself. So I love that. I think it's all about, you know, having fun with it and bringing fashion into tennis. I think it's also gonna help to explore our sport more. So I'm enjoying this.

• 35:15Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah. You see it in sports, like, I feel like basketball, especially in America, like all the basketball players are very fashionable. Like it, it kind of creates, it brings sports and culture together quite a lot. How do you find your inspiration for your looks? Like, is it just something you like the look of? Like, how do you kind of go about picking colors, silhouettes, everything else?

• 35:34Speaker 04

  Well, I started to work with Carla Velch, the, um, the stylist. She's the best. And she teaches me a lot about, you know, how to mix stuff together, which colors works better, better for me. Uh, so she teaches me a lot and I follow a lot of like fashion influencers just to like see how they dressed up. And sometimes I find the inspiration. I ordered a lot of stuff and, you know, I'm, I'm like, I cannot stop shopping. That's my, that's my weakness.

• 36:02Jay Shetty?

  Is it?

• 36:03Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 36:04Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, there was a clip that I saw where it's like, as soon as after the game, the first thing that went on was the AP. It went on straight after the game.

• 36:11Speaker 04

  You know, gotta take care of the fashion stuff of the game, fashion part of the game.

• 36:16Jay Shetty?

  I love it. Well, you're, well, you're crushing it. You're crushing it. When I, one of the things that I love talking to about with successful people, champions who have been through it, is like defining moments in their life. You know, I feel like defining moments in every human's life are just.

• 36:32Jay Shetty?

  It either propels you forward, or it can, you know, slow you down or break you down. And for you, I feel like one of the biggest ones is losing your father. Like that is, for anyone, losing a parent is such a huge part of their journey. For you, it's critical to your journey because it's the person who gave you what you love. Walk us through that moment in time.

• 36:52Speaker 04

  Well, I hope I'm not gonna start crying right now, but it was. It was unexpected. It just happened like this.

• 37:01Speaker 04

  And it was, it was a tough moment because I was so close to him. The reason is because we have similar personalities and we understood each other much better. He knew what to tell me when I was like struggling on court, you know. I would just call him and he would just say a couple of things and I would be like, oh, that makes sense. So losing him was, was a tough moment.

• 37:29Speaker 04

  But, you know, instead of like really going depressed, I just decided to take it as, you know, like he's like here with me, he's in my, in my heart, in my memory.

• 37:44Speaker 04

  He raised me, I feel like the best way possible. Thanks, thanks to him for, you know, like I feel like I'm the champion right now because of, because of him. And I know that he's here with me. He, you know, he support me, he takes care of me, he protects me. And yeah, I took it as a motivation to put the family name in the history and thanks to him.

• 38:07Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. How, how did you grieve at the time? Like what was useful to you? Because I feel losing someone's always hard and there's no perfect way to grieve. But what, what worked for you? What, what did you have to do in order to process that?

• 38:19Speaker 04

  Well, I had to stay really strong because yeah, my mom was, she, it was tough for her to handle. She was a young woman to lose her husband that she loved. It was tough. So I had to stay really strong and not really show my emotions, but I was crying a lot back then. When no one saw me. But the best way for me was to go on court and practice and train. It was the only time when I wouldn't think. You know, like the beginning of the practice till the end, I was just focusing on like tennis, like hitting those like balls, repetition after repetition. And then the moment the practice would stop, I would like constantly thinking, like remembering like something from the past, start crying harder.

• 39:01Speaker 04

  Um, that was the best way for me to go through it is like go out and and practice and practice and practice.

• 39:09Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I feel like, yeah, I feel like you just break down straight after because it, I mean, I'm surprised you could even focus during the practice. That's impressive because.

• 39:17Speaker 04

  There was, yeah, I don't know how, actually. I just figured that I went on court, start practicing, I realized that, okay, this is the moment when I'm not thinking about that. And I was, I was training a lot.

• 39:28Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were trying to like channel it all into.

• 39:31Speaker 04

  Yeah, like just let it like go, let it go because it's nothing you can do about. You know, I feel like in life, there is like birth, love, and that's something that you have zero control on. So I was like, it was his journey. I was grateful that I was able to spend twenty one years with with him. And yeah, I know that he's he's protecting me.

• 39:56Jay Shetty?

  Hmm, that's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. It's so beautiful to hear about. My, my wife recently lost her grandmother and I always say to people that.

• 40:04Speaker 04

  I'm so sorry.

• 40:05Jay Shetty?

  Uh, my, like my wife's, I don't even come close. My wife's favorite person in the world is her grandmother. And her grandma was ninety one, she lived an amazing life, but losing someone that close to you, that's raised you, that you have all these memories with, it's never easy. And, you know, my wife was by her bedside for four months, every day before she passed away, like sleeping in hospital and together with her and just, you know, it was, it was beautiful for me to watch, just that love that they shared.

• 40:31Speaker 04

  Connection.

• 40:32Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, that connection and that level of love and that level of, and I love what you just said now about how birth, love and death are the only things that are guaranteed. And it's, how, how do you, how do you think about love? Like, what's your views on love? I'm intrigued, seeing as you brought up those three important things.

• 40:51Speaker 04

  I think love is something that you cannot really explain, right? You just, you just feel complete with the person, right? You just feel comfortable, you, you're not adopting anything, you're having fun. You love everything about the person good and because everyone have good and bad parts, right? So you love everything. And I think that's something that gives you that feeling that, I don't know, that like, that warm in your heart.

• 41:20Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, it's a feeling.

• 41:21Speaker 04

  How would you describe? You know, right? Like, how, how can, yeah?

• 41:26Jay Shetty?

  Love to me is when someone accepts you for who you are and you accept them for who they are.

• 41:34Speaker 04

  And not changing your, right?

• 41:36Jay Shetty?

  Trying to change them.

• 41:37Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 41:37Jay Shetty?

  I feel like the biggest mistake is when you either want someone to never change or you want someone to change today. Because chances are, if you spend long enough with someone, they will change and you will change. And if I wanna change you, that means I never really loved you in the first place. And so

• 41:54Speaker 04

  Very

• 41:55Jay Shetty?

  when I'm willing to accept, yeah, when I'm willing to accept and be with you and sit with you and understand you, I'm, I'm trying to be more curious than I am judgmental.

• 42:04Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 42:05Jay Shetty?

  Because I'm trying to understand why you are the way you are and

• 42:08Speaker 04

  I love that.

• 42:08Jay Shetty?

  What made you this way and

• 42:10Speaker 04

  I totally agree.

• 42:11Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, cuz it's, cuz I feel like it's, it's so easy in any relationship. This isn't just romantic. I think it applies to parents, family, sisters, siblings, brothers, everyone. It's like, you don't know why someone is the way they are.

• 42:24Speaker 04

  You don't know what they been through, right? What made them the way they are and when you understand, understand that about, like you said, family, friends, uh, just people, right?

• 42:35Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 42:35Speaker 04

  Makes you, yeah, just feel the person.

• 42:39Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. When did you start to feel successful and feel like you were a champion? Did you ever, do you feel that way or is there?

• 42:48Speaker 04

  I don't know. I, I never, I never think about that. I think for me, success is

• 42:55Speaker 04

  the, the discipline that you put in.

• 42:57Jay Shetty?

  Hmm.

• 42:58Speaker 04

  I think this is success, like being able to Be there every morning, every practice, doesn't matter how you feel, doesn't matter if you want it or you you don't want to be there, you know, because there is days when you just don't wanna go and work or practice and do your job, right? And if you're still there, this is success. This is mean that you you you love what you do and you want to be successful.

• 43:23Jay Shetty?

  That's a great definition of success. I love that. That's such a great answer. Success is actually showing up, even when you don't want to, when you don't feel like it. That's really what it is.

• 43:34Speaker 04

  I think that's why I'm able to, you know, hold this trophy is because I was there like no matter what since like a very young age, you know, remember going to practice not feeling well. But I don't know, someone was just, something was just driving me, like I was just going there, I loved it. And that's why I say that people have to find something they love. Because when you love something, what's like what you do, that's what pushes you, like to go, to do, to to do better every day, like and to improve to. That's important.

• 44:08Jay Shetty?

  I love what you're saying and I'm I'm thinking about some of the things I think my audience struggles with sometimes. Let's say you finds, some people struggle to find something they love. Do you think that's because we have the wrong view of it? Like I think some people think if you love something, you'll always like it. But what you're saying is you could love something and there'll still be days where you don't like it, which I think is a really important point.

• 44:30Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 44:31Jay Shetty?

  Does that make sense?

• 44:31Speaker 04

  Like, I feel like so many people give up on things because they feel like, okay, I I don't wanna go there. It means that, okay, I'm done. And I think um this is actually the moment where you can make the like breakthrough, you know? Because you, yeah, like you said, you're absolutely right. You can love something, but at the same time, you can experience those days when you just don't wanna do that. And it's normal. It's normal. It's just, it's it's a routine. So it's important to, if you love something at first and you you feel happy and then like all of the sudden you're like, okay, I'm, I don't wanna go there. It's it's doesn't mean that you have to change something.

• 45:11Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 45:12Speaker 04

  You know, you have to change your job. You just have to go through this period. It's it's like in every relationship. It's not perfect all the time. You have to, you know, go through something.

• 45:21Jay Shetty?

  Did you ever think about giving up? Like, was there ever a time in your life where you were like, I think this is it?

• 45:26Speaker 04

  Yeah, there was a moment in my career. When was that? Three years ago? When I was double faulting, I couldn't like surf. I don't know what happened with me. Like, I couldn't surf. Just something happened. And it wouldn't work and I was, I was still playing. I was, I actually ended up here uh in top ten somehow without the surf. But it was like really, I was really close to just quit. Because I was like, I don't know how to fix it. Like, we tried everything, like psychology. Um, we tried everything, like, like, like going like through repetitions, like practicing, like uh different, like everything, we tried everything and we couldn't fix it. And I was like, okay, I'm about to quit.

• 46:09Speaker 04

  Uh, but then we, yeah, we hired the biomechanic guy and he helped to understand some details and, and you know, like, so that's what I'm saying, like, it was the moment for me to like, you know, to stay strong, to go through it, to never like, never give up, you know, like I always say. And I didn't quit. And after that, I was able to win my first Grand Slam. And that moment was crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy emotional.

• 46:39Jay Shetty?

  I feel like that's always the case where it's like you love something.

• 46:42Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 46:42Jay Shetty?

  Something about it's not working, you're struggling, you're not getting it right.

• 46:46Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 46:46Jay Shetty?

  And that's the point where you're required to be a bit more dedicated. Like, it's like, that's where the unlock is.

• 46:52Speaker 04

  Yes, I feel like uh universe, God, or you call, however you want it, send those challenges because you can handle it and for a reason. You know, like, everything happens for a reason. And that would actually kept me in sport because I was like, okay, this is happen, happening for a reason. I need to change something, you know? And, and I think you have to go through these tough challenges to see, to see why, why happened to you. It's not only about sport, in everything in life, you know?

• 47:25Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, and I feel like those are the moments that give you confidence and courage. That when you overcome something, whichever, and I think people forget how much they've overcome.

• 47:33Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 47:33Jay Shetty?

  Like, I love that you just said, like, I've been just showing up since I was a little kid.

• 47:38Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 47:39Jay Shetty?

  Like, you know, you've been showing up for so many years and I think people think confidence is how you show up today or winning a trophy or it's like, no, no, no, like, think about it and everyone has showed up in their life. Like the people that are going to work for their kids, for their partner, like people have been showing up. And if everyone could think of all the times in their life where they had the courage, had the confidence to show up even when they didn't want to, you're gonna feel a lot more of that today rather than waiting to win to feel confident.

• 48:09Speaker 04

  I think confidence, it's, it's, it's a, it's a process, you know, you're building this confidence like step by step, like by waking up the, like the early morning, by showing up somewhere you didn't want to, you know, like and like slowly building your confidence. It's all about like these little, little steps.

• 48:27Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Do you have any unusual rituals or any like things that you do before you go out on court? Or on a day, like, do you, do you, uh, do you bounce the ball a number of times? Do you throw it a certain way? Is there like a little, little trick or a little thing that you have personally that works for you?

• 48:44Speaker 04

  Uh, well, I have the same breakfast throughout the tournament. That's my, you know?

• 48:49Jay Shetty?

  What is your go-to breakfast?

• 48:51Speaker 04

  Oh, I love avocado toast with, with two fried eggs from both sides. Over easy, has to be perfect. I gave so much trouble to some of the places with this eggs.

• 49:04Jay Shetty?

  It has to be perfect.

• 49:05Speaker 04

  Has to be perfect. I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy. And the smokes on the side. That's my go-to.

• 49:11Jay Shetty?

  That's your go-to breakfast?

• 49:12Speaker 04

  I love this breakfast. I always come back to this one.

• 49:14Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very specific.

• 49:15Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 49:16Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, it's good.

• 49:17Speaker 04

  Maybe this. And then I think about the bouncing the ball. I think it's all about the habit. Uh, maybe I actually pick the balls from the ball kids. I always pick from, like if I win the point and I picked from like, like it doesn't matter which corner, like for example, from the right, right corner, how I show the right. I mean, left corner. I will keep like picking up the balls from that kid.

• 49:43Jay Shetty?

  Got it.

• 49:44Speaker 04

  I don't know why, it just like gives me, uh, give me, I don't know, good feeling.

• 49:49Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like we all have these little things.

• 49:52Speaker 04

  Little things, but as long as it, as this thing's in your control, it's good.

• 49:57Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 49:57Speaker 04

  When you like, you know, rely on something that it's not in your control, then it can become a problem.

• 50:03Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, I, I've, I mean, I'd be honest, any athlete I've ever interviewed who has continued to be a high performer in their life for a long time, has a definite breakfast for their game day. It's like a very common trait, like to have a, a specific breakfast.

• 50:19Speaker 04

  Well, you know.

• 50:20Jay Shetty?

  Have that continuity.

• 50:21Speaker 04

  Because I love, like, for me, the main meal is breakfast. I like, I like to sit there, enjoy my breakfast, have like, have my cup of coffee and, um, yeah, that's my ritual, you know?

• 50:33Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Who do you, I asked this to Novak recently when he was on the show, I was like, who do you consider your toughest opponent mentally?

• 50:45Speaker 04

  What did he say?

• 50:46Jay Shetty?

  He said himself.

• 50:47Speaker 04

  Himself?

• 50:48Jay Shetty?

  It's a good answer.

• 50:49Speaker 04

  It's a good answer.

• 50:51Jay Shetty?

  I'll cut that out, you can say it as well.

• 50:53Speaker 04

  Well, yeah, myself. Thanks, Novak.

• 50:58Speaker 04

  No, I cannot pick one, you know why? Because everyone is tough, you know, like it's tough, like everyone brings like different challenges, you know? And it's tough to like say, okay, she's like the toughest one for me, because then you underestimate the rest of the group, which is not right. So all of them brings like different challenges, but I think, Novak, thank you for that, you're the biggest.

• 51:21Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, you're always your biggest mental competitor.

• 51:24Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 51:24Jay Shetty?

  Because you're the one pushing yourself the hardest.

• 51:26Speaker 04

  Exactly, exactly.

• 51:27Jay Shetty?

  It's a good answer. What about your toughest opponent physically?

• 51:31Speaker 04

  Coco, um, Iga, yeah, these two, like I think physically, um, brings the biggest challenge.

• 51:39Jay Shetty?

  In, in what sense?

• 51:41Speaker 04

  They, they move really great, so sometimes you build a point and probably with others, like this show will be a winner, but with them, sometimes you have to like rebuild the point. And yeah, physically, it's not easy, physically and mentally, it's not easy like to like, you know, stay, stay strong and be ready that the ball gonna come back, uh, every time and you have to like. Be really strong physically to handle that that intensity.

• 52:06Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, how how does it feel? Do you have lots of, I'm sure you have so many young tennis players, both men and women, coming up to you, feeling inspired, feeling excited about your journey, like, how does that feel?

• 52:17Speaker 04

  I think that's the goal in life, and I always wanted to be a good example for next generation. And when kids run to me and say, I love you, you're my inspiration, that's, you know, that's what what actually matters in life.

• 52:30Jay Shetty?

  What do you say to young athletes who are inspired by you or moved by you? What what's your advice to them? What's your words of wisdom?

• 52:38Speaker 04

  Surround yourself with the right people. That's the main thing. Because with the right people, you can achieve anything.

• 52:46Jay Shetty?

  Hmm, that's good advice. Is it, did it take you time to find the right people to surround yourself with? Like, is that is that hard?

• 52:53Speaker 04

  It's hard. It's really hard because there's so many, um, let's say, interesting people around. But yeah, it took me, it took me, it took me time. I was really happy to have my uh my coach uh with me for I don't know like how many years already, my fitness coach and a tennis coach, so they've been there for me. And and then um find the right um the right agent, the right. I mean, yeah, it took it took time to build the right people.

• 53:23Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, it does. I I feel like that's true in, again, in business, in sports, in everything, finding the right team is everything.

• 53:30Speaker 04

  Yeah, you go through being betrayed by someone and, you know, like, people come, people go, and it's a process. But I feel like the moment you find your your your people, you better stick to that group because this is what gives you um energy and power to keep going.

• 53:46Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I remember I had a I had a physical therapist that I was working with at a time. But we ended up talking while I'd be doing physical therapy too. And it was really interesting. She said to me once, this was years ago, this was like maybe six years ago now.

• 54:01Speaker 04

  Hmm.

• 54:01Jay Shetty?

  And she said to me, she said, Jay, it's funny, like, it feels like the only people that stress you out are the people you pay. And because she was saying when I talk, when I am venting, when I'm saying something, she was saying it was only the people in your professional world. She was like, it seems like your personal life's great. Like my relationship with my wife, my relationship with my family, my sister, my my parents. But she was like, oh, it seems like whenever you're going through something painful, it's always to do something in your life that's part of your business. And it really like was like a moment for me because I was like, oh, I've got to, I've got to think about this as much because I think when I first, at least for me, when I first started moving, I didn't know anyone in the entertainment industry. I didn't know anyone in this world. And so I was just trying to surround myself with people who were smart, who knew what they were doing.

• 54:46Jay Shetty?

  But they weren't necessarily on the same energy and vibrancy, if that makes sense.

• 54:49Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah.

• 54:50Jay Shetty?

  Does that make sense?

• 54:51Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 54:51Jay Shetty?

  You've had to find people on the same frequency?

• 54:53Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah, I think it's important to have people with a good energy, the energy that fits and and that you, yeah, you understand each other and that seems like your people, you know?

• 55:04Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, that's why right now, when we said, what do you want to get for food? You were like, no, my team knows me.

• 55:08Speaker 04

  You know, they know.

• 55:09Jay Shetty?

  I trust them, like.

• 55:11Speaker 04

  That's that's that's what I mean.

• 55:13Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, and this year you launched Arena's Arena, right?

• 55:16Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 55:16Jay Shetty?

  Which I love, which is giving people more access.

• 55:18Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 55:19Jay Shetty?

  To know your team and the dynamics. Talk to us about that.

• 55:21Speaker 04

  Yeah, I want to share myself. I want to share my life. I want life. I want to, you know, show those little kids that, like, we're all people, like, you know, you don't have to be perfect to be successful, right? And I want to show like what it takes to, you know, to to be where I am and that that is like, that is real and you just gotta work.

• 55:53Jay Shetty?

  This episode is brought to you by Vinted. Value can be found anywhere, even in the clothes sitting untouched in our closets. That's where Vinted comes in. Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app where you can sell clothes you no longer want and get more value out of them. Whether you're running out of space, moving, or simply updating your wardrobe. Listing items is a quick and simple process. And once something sells, Vinted creates a prepaid shipping label for you. And the best part, there are no seller fees, so you keep what you earn. It's a simple way to clear out your closet, be less wasteful, and maybe make some extra money along the way. Give your clothes a second life with Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free to start selling with no seller fees.

• 56:38Jay Shetty?

  So you keep every dollar you earn. This episode is brought to you by Amtrak. You know that feeling when you're already tired and you haven't even gotten there yet? That's where Amtrak comes in. Leave the driving behind and settle into a comfortable seat with plenty of room to stretch out. Catch up on work with wifi, grab a snack at the cafe car or just sit back and enjoy your favourite podcast. Choose a cellar or North East Regional and get there without the stress of getting there. Visit amtrak.com to plan your next trip. This episode is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. If you're talking about quality food, you can't forget Whole Foods Market. Who've been holding themselves to the highest standards since they opened in 1980.

• 57:23Jay Shetty?

  That means you'll see thousands of organic products across their stores from the produce department to the aisles. It also means you'll never see certain ingredients. They've banned artificial sweeteners and colours, high fructose corn syrup and more. So you can shop with peace of mind. Shop Whole Foods Market in store or online.

• 57:53Jay Shetty?

  The truth is tennis is such an individual sport and I've I've had the fortune of interviewing people from so many different sports, but tennis and Formula One are like so dependent on the individual in the sense that you're the one playing the game. At the same time, like you said, there is a team and so it's important to show that. Same in F1, there is a team. But there's just so much, even when you celebrate that day, like when you won. I was like, wait a minute, when you're on the court, you have to celebrate on your own. Like the moment you win, whereas if you watch any other sport, the team will come together. The players run to each other and it's like, obviously you can do that when you get into the stands, but that moment, you've got to savour it, like when you drop to your knees and you know.

• 58:33Speaker 04

  Yeah, there was very, very emotional moment. I still, you know, feel this.

• 58:40Speaker 04

  Because, you know, yeah, you have a huge team. And the amount of work that those guys put in, it's incredible. And I, I feel like I'm kind of like responsible for that because I know that they deserve to be the best coaches, like the best agent, the best physio, like the best team, you know? So I feel responsible when I'm out there competing because it doesn't matter how much work they put in, you know, it's at the end, it's like all depends on me, you know? And they don't know like if, you know, if I'll go out there and I'll play my best and if I'll win, you know? So when I'm there competing, I'm not only competing for myself, I compete for my team. But I'm like there and I'm responsible for that, you know, on my own.

• 59:24Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, you're carrying a lot.

• 59:25Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah, exactly. So it's, it's tough. And that's why I feel like most of the athletes, like, like they, not athletes, but tennis players and Formula One, they sort of like crying after like winning something because, you know, all that pressure, all that things in your head, they just slowly go away and you feel, okay, I did it, you know? But Formula One is another level. Like, I'm a fan. I don't, I don't know how, how they do that. It's like, you know, they put sort of like their life in risk and it's so fast and so crazy. And for me, this is intense.

• 1:00:03Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I mean, I mean, it's all intense.

• 1:00:05Speaker 04

  No, because, you know, we have breaks, like between the points, between the games. Those guys, they're there for I don't know how long, like hour and something, right? And they're there and like if they just lose focus for a second, gone, you know? This is tough.

• 1:00:21Jay Shetty?

  It is scary knowing that you can take your own life and someone else's. And it's got, the sport has got so much safer over time, so it's.

• 1:00:27Speaker 04

  Yeah, I know, it's safer now, but still, you know?

• 1:00:29Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. What, are there any sports that you watch, that you love, that you follow?

• 1:00:34Speaker 04

  I love basketball, I love ice hockey, but it's not like I really have like one team,

• 1:00:42Jay Shetty?

  Okay.

• 1:00:42Speaker 04

  one team that I support. I just love to watch, especially like with the basketball sitting on the court side. When I see the way those guys moves, like with their like height and everything. And like I always like message my fitness coach, like, okay, we gotta do something. You know, but I'm like, I'm just like frozen in the moment because I just look how they move. You know, probably it's like a professional defect or something, you know, because I just watched their like movement and it's crazy, it's crazy what those guys.

• 1:01:13Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, you're watching a different game because you're looking at.

• 1:01:15Speaker 04

  Yeah, I look at different things probably. And Formula One, I'm just like sitting there and I'm like, how they can be focused for so long without like losing their focus?

• 1:01:25Jay Shetty?

  Those races.

• 1:01:26Speaker 04

  Corner after corner, like it's crazy.

• 1:01:28Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, and it's repetitive as well, it's like.

• 1:01:30Speaker 04

  Yeah, you know, like crazy.

• 1:01:32Jay Shetty?

  Doing the same thing.

• 1:01:33Speaker 04

  That's what, that's what, what I actually crazy.

• 1:01:34Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, no, and how, how much time do you give yourself to now celebrate? You're doing press today, I mean, like we said, it's only four eight hours. How long before you have to get back to training, back on the grind, back to the discipline?

• 1:01:47Speaker 04

  Well, the schedule is, is tough, you know, but I think I'm gonna give myself couple more days to celebrate and then we're gonna go back, back to work. But like also slowly, like starting probably from the gym and then yeah, we're gonna build up because we have a couple more tournaments and, and then the finals, uh, uh, which is like top eight, uh, players compete for the, you know, for the, for another big trophy. So we have couple more big tournaments coming up. But for now, I'm gonna take couple days to celebrate because you know, when I was struggling, I was always, uh, going back to those moments when I, uh, when I was winning those Grand Slams.

• 1:02:29Speaker 04

  And I was like, I was thinking like, I wish I could just experience that again. And I will celebrate like crazy because you never know if this moment gonna come again, you know? Of course, you work, you hope, you do your best. But at the end of the day, you never know, right? So, um, so earlier this season, I, I said to myself, okay, if I will win it this year, I'm gonna, I'm gonna celebrate and I'll truly enjoy it, you know? So the plan is for the next couple of days.

• 1:02:59Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:00Speaker 04

  Enjoy it.

• 1:03:00Jay Shetty?

  It's, it's good, it's good that you're honoring that because sometimes you say that before. And then after you win it, you're like, oh, now I need to just get back to it.

• 1:03:07Speaker 04

  No, no, no, no, I'm like, I have this control. I'm like, I'm like that, I'm like, okay, I need to go back, but I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. We gotta, we gotta.

• 1:03:14Jay Shetty?

  We gotta do it.

• 1:03:14Speaker 04

  We gotta enjoy.

• 1:03:15Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, we gotta do it. No, I love that. I loved what you posted on your Instagram. You wrote, "To my team, I wouldn't be here without you, but don't forget, you wouldn't be here without me."

• 1:03:24Speaker 04

  It wouldn't be me without joking.

• 1:03:26Jay Shetty?

  Some little, yeah.

• 1:03:28Speaker 04

  Some little, you know? Don't forget.

• 1:03:30Jay Shetty?

  Some little spice, some little.

• 1:03:32Speaker 04

  That's who I am, you know?

• 1:03:33Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I, I, I genuinely, I genuinely love that you're honoring your, your time and energy to celebrate. It's, it's such a great reminder. I feel like for years and years and years in my career, I was just going, going, going, going, going. And there was to be more mindful, to be more present, to really take it in because.

• 1:03:50Speaker 04

  And also mentally to be healthy, right? It's important to balance this hard work with a little joy.

• 1:03:55Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, you only come back sharper.

• 1:03:57Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 1:03:57Jay Shetty?

  Have you found that as well? Has that been a big part of your recovery? To recognize you were talking about sleep earlier, like, talk to me about the need for rest and recovery and what you do to really find stillness.

• 1:04:07Speaker 04

  I feel like recovery is, is the key, you know? And if before I would blame myself even for going, um, for a dinner during the tournament because I would think, I would feel like, oh, it's, uh, it distracted me and, uh, um, I, I wouldn't be able to be focused tomorrow. No, it's wrong, you know? You, you have to, um, you have to go for dinner. You have to do things that brings you joy. You, you have to like sleep, you have to focus on your recovery as well because this is part of the process, you know? Like, uh, to be able physically and mentally han- uh, handle this, uh, pressure and this intensity.

• 1:04:44Speaker 04

  You have to have a good recovery, so it's also one of the main priorities for us.

• 1:04:49Jay Shetty?

  Hmm, I love that. So Irina, I know you have this Battle of the Sexes game coming up with Nick. Nick had been on the show, uh, very excited about this repeat. I don't think it's ever been done again.

• 1:05:00Speaker 04

  No, I think it is, it's been done like a long, long time ago.

• 1:05:04Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, Billie Jean King, yeah.

• 1:05:04Speaker 04

  Yeah, like really long.

• 1:05:05Jay Shetty?

  Years ago, yeah.

• 1:05:06Speaker 04

  When was that? What was the year?

• 1:05:08Jay Shetty?

  The seventies, yeah, great game.

• 1:05:10Speaker 04

  It's been a while, right?

• 1:05:11Jay Shetty?

  Great movie about the, if, if anyone hasn't seen the actual game, it's a great movie about it too. And so with Emma Stone, I think.

• 1:05:16Speaker 04

  We're bringing it back.

• 1:05:17Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, it's, yeah, you're bringing it back. What, what inspired this?

• 1:05:22Speaker 04

  Well, uh, yeah, since we're fighting for equal first money, I believe, uh, uh, that's, that's the reason, no? No, but mostly it's just, I think it's fun and it's cool to see and it's, uh, um, interesting for me to play against a man and I'm ready to kick his, uh, I will allow to use this word, kick his ass, right? I put, I'm, I'm putting a lot of pressure on him right now, so I hope he's gonna just withdraw from, from feeling all of the pressure.

• 1:05:49Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, you can say whatever you want. Give us that message to Nick. I'm gonna send it to Nick straight away after this.

• 1:05:54Speaker 04

  Well, Nick, you gotta be ready. You better be ready and, um, yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna kick your ass, man.

• 1:06:04Jay Shetty?

  I love it, I love it.

• 1:06:05Speaker 04

  I think the ATP gonna cancel the battle.

• 1:06:09Speaker 04

  Gonna be like, well, okay, if it's happening, let it be like Yannick or, or Carlos, but not, not Nick.

• 1:06:15Jay Shetty?

  They're turning into, this is turning into like a boxing match, it feels like, it's like.

• 1:06:18Speaker 04

  Yeah, I'll make sure that I'm, I'll, I'll send him some drinks before the, before the battle, just so, you know?

• 1:06:24Jay Shetty?

  Oh, yeah. And you've got some little tricks up your sleeve like that?

• 1:06:26Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah, you know, I'm gonna make sure he's not ready.

• 1:06:29Jay Shetty?

  I love it. And talk to me about this court, court chains they're gonna have to help make it make sense.

• 1:06:34Speaker 04

  Basically, I'll be on the side with like a smaller court.

• 1:06:38Jay Shetty?

  Got it. So he has a smaller area to play into.

• 1:06:41Speaker 04

  To hit and, um, and he's, he's gonna be on the regular size, so it's kind of like unfair already, right?

• 1:06:50Jay Shetty?

  Well, I don't know if it's unfair.

• 1:06:51Speaker 04

  And I think we're gonna have, um, one serve each, um.

• 1:06:57Speaker 04

  That's it?

• 1:06:57Jay Shetty?

  That's very exciting. Where is it taking place?

• 1:07:00Speaker 04

  We're still trying to figure it out.

• 1:07:01Jay Shetty?

  Okay, alright, I wanna come watch.

• 1:07:03Speaker 04

  Come.

• 1:07:03Jay Shetty?

  So you're gonna let me know, yeah.

• 1:07:04Speaker 04

  But you're gonna, you're gonna sit on, on my side.

• 1:07:06Jay Shetty?

  I'll cheer for you, I'll cheer for you, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:07:08Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 1:07:09Jay Shetty?

  I'm gonna message Nick now, gonna, I'm cheering for Arena.

• 1:07:11Speaker 04

  I'm sorry.

• 1:07:11Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I love it, I'm on your side.

• 1:07:12Speaker 04

  Yeah, thank you.

• 1:07:14Jay Shetty?

  Arena, is there anything I haven't asked you that you wish I did ask you? Anything?

• 1:07:18Speaker 04

  You know, I think you, I mean, you know what you do, you know what you do, you, you ask everything I wished of talking about.

• 1:07:27Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I'm making sure, cuz I, I, I like, I, I don't take these opportunities for granted. I feel so lucky that I get to sit with you forty eight after, uh, forty eight hours after winning. I feel so fortunate I get to speak to one of the best, you know, in the game.

• 1:07:41Speaker 04

  I'm so happy, uh, I'm so happy to be in your podcast and it's been a dream of mine for so long and finally we, we did it.

• 1:07:49Jay Shetty?

  We did it.

• 1:07:50Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 1:07:51Jay Shetty?

  I'm, I'm so grateful that I get to be part of your dreams, I mean that. We end every episode with a final five. So these have to be answered in one word to one sentence maximum.

• 1:08:00Speaker 04

  Okay.

• 1:08:00Jay Shetty?

  But I always, I always go away from that, so don't worry about it.

• 1:08:03Speaker 04

  Okay, let's see.

• 1:08:04Jay Shetty?

  Uh, Arena Sabalenka, these are your final five. The first question is, what is the best advice you've ever heard or received?

• 1:08:12Speaker 04

  Focus on yourself and don't listen to people because most of the people want you to fail. So focus on yourself and on people close to you.

• 1:08:21Jay Shetty?

  Who said that to you?

• 1:08:23Speaker 04

  My father.

• 1:08:24Jay Shetty?

  That's awesome. How old were you when he first said that to you?

• 1:08:27Speaker 04

  He said it to me when I was seventeen, I think.

• 1:08:30Jay Shetty?

  Okay.

• 1:08:31Speaker 04

  He was waiting probably for the moment for me to be ready to, uh, I don't know, to, uh, accept some sort of deep advice, actually.

• 1:08:41Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, how long before you feel you really took it to heart and really understood it?

• 1:08:46Speaker 04

  Maybe when he passed away, you know, I feel like when we're, we're losing, um, a person, that, that, that, this is the moment when we actually realize how much we lost, you know? Like, and we appreciate every little, small detail. And the, the memories keep, uh, still coming up in my head, you know, I'm like, oh, you know? So you have to... You have to appreciate, if you still have your family, just for people, you have to appreciate it and you have to really um take care of your closest one.

• 1:09:22Jay Shetty?

  Um. Do you keep any physical part of him on you at any time when you're playing or in your bag or anywhere or not really, that's it's more in your heart and your mind?

• 1:09:29Speaker 04

  It's more in my heart, it's more in my heart. Uh when he passed away, I had um audios from him. But then I was crying like crazy when I uh when I figured that they disappeared after like a year. And I didn't like record it, save it somehow, it wasn't in in the app. Just to like keep his voice and because he wasn't the person who would like take a lot of videos, you know, like pictures and stuff, I don't have that either either. So I was really depressed that I don't have his like voice, but he's in my in my heart, in my memory, I think that's the most important.

• 1:10:03Jay Shetty?

  Beautiful. Uh question number two, what is the worst advice you've ever heard or received?

• 1:10:08Speaker 04

  You know, like, bad things never stay in my head, so.

• 1:10:12Jay Shetty?

  Good answer.

• 1:10:12Speaker 04

  I I don't remember any like bad advice.

• 1:10:15Jay Shetty?

  That's a good answer.

• 1:10:16Speaker 04

  Work with I M G maybe.

• 1:10:19Jay Shetty?

  Good answer. All right, very cool. Uh question number three. I'm gonna say, uh, oh, what would you say are your three most life-changing games that you've ever played? Three most life-changing matches, and they don't have to be finals or wins, just.

• 1:10:35Speaker 04

  Yeah, I think.

• 1:10:38Speaker 04

  Uh the semifinal against Madison Keys at the US Open two ye- two years ago, I think, yeah, two years ago.

• 1:10:47Jay Shetty?

  Why that one?

• 1:10:48Speaker 04

  Because I was down set and I think five one or something and I came back in the match and I won that one and I made my first final, so I think that was the moment when when I realized a lot of things.

• 1:11:00Jay Shetty?

  How does it feel to be five one down?

• 1:11:02Speaker 04

  Oh, it feels uh feels terrible. It's a terrible feeling, but you're still hoping that maybe.

• 1:11:09Jay Shetty?

  How do you keep hope in that moment? Because 5-1 is literally like.

• 1:11:12Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's like. Especially about against big server, you know, you're like, ah, no chance. I don't know.

• 1:11:19Jay Shetty?

  How do you keep hope? What are you holding on to?

• 1:11:20Speaker 04

  You're just trying, you know, like you, I was like reminding myself, I mean, it's a dream to be in the semis. So there is no way you're gonna give up, even like, doesn't matter how things going on, like how badly it is. You have to like still try and then maybe, maybe there's going to be a moment when you figured something and you find your game, your rhythm and you'll get the win. And I did it and it was kind of like a life-changing moment. Then, ah, what else? Winning the first slam, of course, gave me huge, huge belief, you know, that, okay, I'm capable of it. And my life wasn't waste of time, you know? And the third one.

• 1:12:05Jay Shetty?

  Your life was definitely not a waste of time.

• 1:12:08Speaker 04

  No, but you know.

• 1:12:09Jay Shetty?

  No, I don't even like your career just.

• 1:12:10Speaker 04

  You know, like, it's, it would be really difficult for me to finish my career without the slam. And the third one, hmm, I don't know.

• 1:12:22Speaker 04

  I don't know.

• 1:12:25Speaker 04

  There was one match when I won, there is a tournament in Doha and I won the tournament. But I think in quarterfinals, I was also like down the set and was struggling a lot, was playing really not my best tennis and I won that match. And then I won the tournament also was kind of like a big moment for me. I think these three.

• 1:12:44Jay Shetty?

  It's amazing that the two of the ones you chose are when you're down.

• 1:12:47Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:12:48Jay Shetty?

  And you come back, like there's something.

• 1:12:50Speaker 04

  This is the moment where you like, gives you like that power. Because next match you play, you think, oh, I mean, come on, I've been down 5-1. Seriously, you, you think that I'm gonna give up like that just because I like lose my server or whatever? So it just gives you that power to fight.

• 1:13:07Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, it's a great reminder to all of us that.

• 1:13:09Speaker 04

  No matter what.

• 1:13:10Jay Shetty?

  Those, those are the moments to look out for because they become your best or they become your best glory.

• 1:13:14Speaker 04

  Stay there, stay there, keep fighting. And this is, this is probably the biggest moment.

• 1:13:19Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Uh, question number three, what do you think people misunderstand about you that you'd like to clarify?

• 1:13:25Speaker 04

  Well, I think because now I'm sharing myself more on social media, they have better understanding about me. But I think there is still some people that they think that the way I am on court, this is like reflection of me off court, which is not true. Because I think, as I said earlier, you know, I'm I'm quite aggressive because I'm on court, because I'm fighting for my dream there. And this is not the time where where you have to be nice.

• 1:13:52Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 1:13:53Speaker 04

  Because off the court, I'm much nicer, like I'm chill. It's really tough to get into a fight with me, you know? So you have to do something terrible.

• 1:14:03Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 1:14:03Speaker 04

  Probably my boyfriend will say different, but I still think.

• 1:14:09Speaker 04

  Yeah, uh, so people misunderstand that, that I'm different.

• 1:14:12Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, if people say like, oh, she's too emotional or unstable or whatever it is, you're like, that's just on the court, I have to be.

• 1:14:20Speaker 04

  Yeah, that's on the court. That's arena on the court.

• 1:14:23Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, and that's not arena off court.

• 1:14:24Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:14:25Jay Shetty?

  I get that. I mean, this sounds ridiculous, but it's so true, like, eh, me and my friends just play amateur everything, like I don't play any sport well, but we get so competitive just playing around. So I can't imagine.

• 1:14:39Speaker 04

  Watching like, you know, people.

• 1:14:41Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 1:14:41Speaker 04

  Play play tennis for fun.

• 1:14:43Jay Shetty?

  That's what I mean, I can't imagine.

• 1:14:45Speaker 04

  Not taking it as fun, you know, they go full.

• 1:14:47Jay Shetty?

  Exactly, and you're like actually playing a tournament, like I'm like, I I'm pretty, I'm pretty, all my friends know that when we're playing a sport, I'm extremely competitive and I'm not like that in real life or in person, you know? And that's, and I'm not even playing the final, you know, so yeah, there's, there has to be a bit of grace. I feel like there has to be a bit of grace for athletes. I'm like, you you've realized.

• 1:15:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, like a little bit like, you know, like stop yourself and like look at everything as a bigger picture, you know, like, okay.

• 1:15:13Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, definitely. Uh, num- question number four before the fifth, which way do I want to go here? One day, long time from now, we hope you're gonna win so many more Grand Slams. I'm I'm putting out loads of good energy. What would you, when you look back on your career, what would you like for yourself to feel about it? What would you like to say about your own career?

• 1:15:33Speaker 04

  I would love to look back and say, I've done everything I could. And.

• 1:15:42Speaker 04

  I want my career to be remembered. And I want to see young kids being inspired by me. And I want to look back and know that I actually inspired a lot. And, and, uh, yeah, I want to be in the history.

• 1:15:58Jay Shetty?

  Hmm, I love that. I love that. You already are. You already are.

• 1:16:02Speaker 04

  Sort of, not even close to the greatest, but we're trying.

• 1:16:07Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I, I, well, the trying, the trying is the most important part. It's wonderful to hear you say that. It's, it's really special. If you remind kids to try, I think that would help a lot of kids.

• 1:16:15Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:16:16Jay Shetty?

  Cause not, you know, not every kid will become number one, but every kid can try and chase their dream. That would be a good world to live in, so.

• 1:16:23Speaker 04

  Just give your best and that's, that's all you, you can do.

• 1:16:26Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Uh, fifth and final question, Irina. We ask this to every guest who's ever been on the show. The question is, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

• 1:16:39Speaker 04

  I want everything to be decided in a conversation and no words and stuff, just like sit down, speak and figure it all of the problems.

• 1:16:53Jay Shetty?

  That's a great law.

• 1:16:55Speaker 04

  That's all we need in the world right now.

• 1:16:58Jay Shetty?

  Save a lot of, uh.

• 1:16:59Speaker 04

  Lives.

• 1:17:00Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, save a lot of lives, yeah. If we were able to solve things by.

• 1:17:03Speaker 04

  Just by talking, sitting and figuring and not leaving the room, uh, before you figured something.

• 1:17:09Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, that's a great answer. We never had that before. Irina Sabalenka, congratulations again.

• 1:17:14Speaker 04

  Thank you, thank you so much.

• 1:17:15Jay Shetty?

  Thank you for doing this. I'm looking forward to you coming on many years. Usually when people come on once, they come on a few times. So I look forward to doing this with you many, many times.

• 1:17:23Speaker 04

  Yeah, let's make it as, as our tradition.

• 1:17:25Jay Shetty?

  Yes, I'd love that. I'd love that. Congrats.

• 1:17:28Speaker 04

  Thank you.

• 1:17:29Jay Shetty?

  Thank you for bringing the first ever trophy to the show.

• 1:17:31Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:17:31Jay Shetty?

  You deserve it and you're, you're a true champion and a, a true leader. So thank you so much.

• 1:17:36Speaker 04

  Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

• 1:17:38Jay Shetty?

  If you love this podcast, you'll love my episode with Lewis Hamilton. Lewis and I talk about why you should stop chasing society's definition of success and how to be more intentional with your goals. You don't want to miss it.

• 1:17:53Speaker 06

  Like, it's not about being perfect. It's about just every day, one step at a time, trying to be better, trying to do more. I'm learning a lot about myself. I have to break myself down in order to be able to be better.

• 1:18:04Speaker 07

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• 1:18:33Speaker 02

  Mr. President, my company tore me of the explosion on our rig.

• 1:18:37Speaker 07

  On October 2nd.

• 1:18:38Speaker 02

  Causing massive water displacement and triggering a tsunami. They all heap the blame on me.

• 1:18:43Speaker 07

  Tom Cruise is.

• 1:18:44Speaker 02

  Digger got us into this mess, and Digger's gonna dig us out.

• 1:18:48Speaker 07

  From the director of Birdman and The Revenant.

• 1:18:50Speaker 03

  What would happen if I stopped going? You stall, you freeze to death, that's what.

• 1:18:54Speaker 07

  With great power comes great deniability.

• 1:18:57Speaker 02

  I'm not the first daddy.

• 1:18:59Speaker 07

  Digger. See the trailer online. Only in theaters October 2nd. Rated R. Under 17. Not a middle without parent.