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

29:57I feel like off the court, 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 enjoy and do things that brings you joy because then when you feel balanced and feel like you're enjoying your life, then you're able to go there and to, you know, bring everything you have and to fight and to be focused. Yeah, 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?

30:40Like, have you felt that or do you feel that doesn't really cross your mind? How do you process that? 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're all fighting for equal prize money and everything. But also at the end of the day, it's all about who brings the show, who brings people into the sport. But I think now the prize money is equal. Everything is getting closer and closer between men and women. 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.

31:21I agree that we deserve to be paid the same. Of course, like the level is different just because of the physical abilities. But the work that we put in, it's equal to the work that they put in. Of course, the level can be different, but it just, it's life. That's men meant to be a stronger than women. so 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 yeah you cannot you know focus on many things you just gotta focus on yourself and bring the best best of you and and of course try to fight for having like equal price money to be like closer to what men's earning and that stuff.

32:10And I think like actually lately, like women's tennis, especially tennis, women's tennis is 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. But I feel like we are getting really close to men. Yeah, yeah. 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 yeah 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 Irina's like going for it like how much how much fun do you get to have with all of that I love it you know I love fashion I love you know I love experimenting with the with the with my looks and stuff and for me it's important, you know, to look good on court, to feel good about myself.

33:05So 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 going to help to explore our sport more. So I'm enjoying this. 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 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 well i started to work with the carla welch the um the stylist she's the best and she teach me a lot about you know how to mix stuff together which colors works better better for me uh so she teach 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.

33:56I ordered a lot of stuff and you know, I'm like, I cannot stop shopping. That's my, that's my weakness. Is it? Yes. Yeah. There was a clip that I saw where it was like, as soon as after the game, the first thing that went on was the AP. It went on straight after the game. You know, got to take care of the fashion stuff of the game, fashion part of the game. I love it. Will you crush it again? You crush it again. Thank you. One of the things that I love talking to you 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, it either propels you forward or it can, you know, slow you down or break you down.

34:37And 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? Well, I hope I'm not going to start crying right now, but it was, it was, uh, unexpected. It just happened like this. Um, and, uh, it was, it was a tough moment because I was so close to him. The reason is because we have similar personalities and we, um, understood each other much better. He knew what to tell me when I was like struggling on court, you know, um, I would just call him and he would just say a couple of things and I would be like, Oh, that makes sense.

35:25So losing him was, uh, was a, was a tough moment. Um, 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. Um, 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 yeah 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 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 a 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.

36:40But 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. um that was the best way for me to go through it is like go out and and practice and practice and practice 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 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 you were trying to like channel it all into yeah like just let it go let it go because it's nothing you can do about it 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 21 years with him and yeah I know that he's protecting me 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 uh stuff 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 91 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 connection 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 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 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 yeah it's a feeling would you describe you know all right like how can yeah love to me is when someone accepts you for who you are and you accept them for who they are and not changing you're right trying to change them exactly 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.

39:51And if I want to change you, that means I never really loved you in the first place. And so 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 trying to be more curious than I am judgmental. Exactly. Because I'm trying to understand why you are the way you are and I love that. What made you this way? And I totally agree. Yeah. Cause it's, cause I feel like 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.

40:25You don't know what they've been through, right? What made them the way they are. And when you understand that about, like you said, family, friends, just people, right? Yeah. Makes you, yeah, just feel the person. Yeah. When did you start to feel successful? and feel like you are a champion? Did you ever, do you feel that way or is there? I don't know. I never think about that. I think for me, success is the discipline that you put in. 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 don't want to be there, you know, because there is days when you just don't want to go and work or practice and do your job, right?

41:17And if you're still there, this is success. This means that you love what you do and you want to be successful. 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. I think that's why I'm able to, you know, hold these trophies because I was there like no matter what since like a very young age. You know, I remember going to practice, not feeling well, but I don't know, 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.

41:56because when you love something, what you do, that's what pushes you to go, to do, to do better every day and to improve. That's important. I love what you're saying and I'm thinking about some of the things I think my audience struggles with sometimes. Let's say you find, 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.

42:32Yeah. Does that make sense? I feel like so many people give up on things because they feel like, okay, I don't want to go there. It means that, okay, I'm done. And I think this is actually the moment where you can make the breakthrough, you know? Because, 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 want to do that. And it's normal. It's normal. It's a routine. So it's important to, if you love something at first and you felt happy and all of a sudden you're like, okay, I don't want to go there. It doesn't mean that you have to change something.

43:13You have to change your job. You just have to go through this period. It's like in every relationship. It's not perfect all the time. You have to go through something. 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? 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 still playing. I actually ended up here in top 10 somehow without the surf. But it was like really, I was really close to just quit.

43:53because I was like, I don't know how to fix it. Like we tried everything, like psychology. We tried everything, like going through repetitions, like practicing, like different, like everything. We tried everything and we couldn't fix it. And I was like, okay, I'm about to quit. But then we hired the Buy Me Honey guy and he helped to understand some details. 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 give up, you know, like how we say. And I didn't quit. And after that, I was able to win my first Grand Slam.

44:35And that moment was crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy emotional. I feel like that's always the case where it's like you love something, something about it's not working, you're struggling, you're not getting it right. 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. Yes, I feel like universe, God, 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 happening for a reason. I need to change something, you know.

45:16and and I think you have to go through these tough challenges to see to see why why it happened to you it's not only about sport in everything in life you know yeah and I feel like those are the moments that give you confidence and courage like when you overcome something which ever and I think people forget how much they've overcome yeah like I love that you just said like I've been just showing up since I was a little kid yeah like you know you've been showing up for so many years and 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.

45:49And 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 going to feel a lot more of that today rather than waiting to win to feel confident. I think confidence, it's a process, you know, you're building this confidence, like step by step, like by waking up the early morning, by showing up somewhere you didn't want to, you know, like and like slowly building your confidence.

46:26It's all about like this little, little steps. 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 bounce the ball a number of times? Do you throw it a certain way? Is there like a little trick or a little thing that you have personally that works for you? Well, I have the same breakfast throughout the tournament. That's my, you know. What is your go-to breakfast? Oh, I love avocado toast 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 x it has to be perfect it has to be perfect i don't know maybe i'm crazy and the smoke sound on the side that's my go-to that's your go-to breakfast i love this breakfast i always come back to this one yeah very specific yes yeah it's good maybe this and then i think about the bouncing the ball i think it's all about the habit 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 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 from that kid got it I don't know why it just like gives me give me I don't know good feeling yeah yeah I feel like we all have these little things as long as it as these things in your control, it's good.

47:59When you like, you know, rely on something that it's not in your control, then it can become a problem. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. 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, have that continuity. Because I love, Like for me, the main meal is breakfast. I like to sit there, enjoy my breakfast, have my cup of coffee. And yeah, that's my ritual, you know? Yeah. Who do you, I asked this to Novak recently when he was on the show.

48:38I was like, who do you consider your toughest opponent mentally? Who did he say? He said himself. Himself? That's a good answer. It's a good answer. I'll cut that out. you can say as well well yeah myself thanks novak yeah 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 yeah you're always your biggest mental competitor yes because you're the one pushing yourself the hardest exactly exactly it's a good answer what about your toughest opponent physically coco um eager yeah they still like i think physically um brings the biggest challenge in in what sense they they move really great.

49:44So sometimes you build a point and probably with others, like this shot 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 going to come back, uh, every time. And you have to like, be really strong physically to handle that, that intensity. 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?

50:17How does that feel? 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 what actually matters in life. What do you say to young athletes who are inspired by you, are moved by you? What's your advice to them? What's your words of wisdom? Surround yourself with the right people. That's the main thing because with the right people, you can achieve anything. That's good advice. Did it take you time to find the right people to surround yourself with? Like, is that hard? It's hard. It's really hard because there's so many, let's say, interesting people around.

51:01but 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 yeah it does I feel like that's true in again in business, in sports, in everything, finding the right team is everything. 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 people, you better stick to that group because this is what gives you energy and power to keep going.

51:47Yeah, I remember I had a physical therapist that I was working with at the 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 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 relation with my wife my relation with my family my sister my my parents but she was like oh it seems like whenever you're going through something painful.

52:27It'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. Cause 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 are smart, who knew what they were doing, but they weren't necessarily on the same energy and vibrancy, if that makes sense. Does that make sense? Like you've had to find people on the same frequency.

52:54Yeah, I think it's important to have people with a good energy, the energy that fits and that you, yeah, you understand each other. And that seems like you're people, you know? 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. You know, they know. I trust them. That's what I mean. Yeah. And this year you launched Arena's Arena, right? Yeah. Which I love, which is giving people more access. Yeah. You know, your team and the dynamics. Talk to us about that. 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.

53:36Right. 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.

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55:17The truth is, tennis is such an individual sport, and 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.

55:49the 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 savor it. Like when you drop to your knees and, you know. Yeah, that was very, very emotional moment. I still, you know, feel this. Because, you know, yeah, you have a huge team and the amount of work that those guys put in, it's incredible. And 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're putting, you know, it's at the end, it's like all depends on me, you know?

56:34And 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. Yeah, you're carrying a lot. Yeah, exactly. So it's tough and that's why I feel like most of the athletes, not athletes but tennis players and Formula 1, they're sort of like crying after 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.

57:12But Formula 1 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 yeah I mean I mean it's all intense 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 an hour and something right and they're there and like if they just lose focus for a second, gone, you know, this is tough. 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.

57:52So it's, yeah, I know it's safer now, but still, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Are there any sports that you watch that you love that you follow? I love basketball. I love ice hockey, but it's not like I really have like one team. Okay. 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 move, like with their like height and everything. And like, I always like message my fitness coach, like, okay, we got to 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?

58:30Probably it's like a professional defect or something, you know, because I just watch their like movement and it's crazy. It's crazy what those guys do. Yeah, you're watching a different game because you're looking at... 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. Like corner after corner, like it's crazy. Yeah. And it's repetitive as well. It's like - Yeah. You know, like crazy. He's doing the same thing. That's what actually crazy. Yeah. Yeah. And how much time do you give yourself to now celebrate you doing press today?

59:06I mean, like we said, it's only 48 hours. How long before you have to get back to training, back on the grind, back to the discipline? Well, the schedule is tough, you know, but I think I'm going to give myself a couple more days to celebrate and then we're going to go back to work, but like also slowly, like starting probably from the gym and then, yeah, we're going to build up because we have a couple more tournaments and then the finals, which is like top eight players compete for another big trophy. So we have a couple more big tournaments, coming up but for now I'm gonna take a 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 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.

1:00:06But at the end of the day, you never know, right? So, 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, enjoy it. 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. 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, we gotta enjoy. Yeah. We gotta do it.

1:00:41No, 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. It wouldn't be me without joking. Some little, yeah. Some little, you know, don't forget. Some little spice. I mean, that's who I am, you know? No, I genuinely love that you're honoring your time and energy to celebrate. 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...

1:01:15And also mentally to be healthy, right? It's important to balance this hard work with a little joy. Yeah, you only come back sharper. Exactly. Have you found that as well? Has that been a big part of your recovery? Yes. 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. I feel like recovery is the key, you know, and if before I would blame myself even for going for a dinner during the tournament, because I would think I would feel like, oh, it's it distract me and I wouldn't be able to be focused tomorrow.

1:01:48No, it's wrong. You know, you have to you have to go for dinner. You have to do things that brings you joy. You have to sleep. You have to focus on your recovery as well because this is part of the process. To be able physically and mentally handle this pressure and this intensity, you have to have a good recovery. So it's also one of the main priorities for us. 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. very excited about this repeat. I don't think it's ever been done again. No, I think it's been done like a long, long time ago.

1:02:29Yeah, Billie Jean King. Yeah, like really long. Years ago, yeah. When was that? What was the year? The 70s. The 70s, yeah. Great game. It's been a while, right? Great movie about the, if anyone hasn't seen the actual game, there's a great movie about it too. And so with Emma Stone, I think it's... We're bringing it back. Yeah, you're bringing it back. What inspired this? well uh yeah since we're fighting for equal price money i believe uh uh that's that's the reason no no but mostly just i think it's fun and it's cool to see and it's uh um interesting for me to play against the man and i'm ready to kick his uh i will allow to use this kick his ass right i put 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.

1:03:14Yeah, you can say whatever you want. Give us that message to Nick. I'm going to send it to Nick straight away after this message. Well, Nick, you got to be ready. You better be ready. And yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to kick your ass. I love it. I love it. I think the ATP going to cancel the battle. Going to be like, well, okay, if it's happening, let it be like Yannick or Carlos, but not Nick. This is turning into like a boxing match, it feels like. Yeah, I'll make sure that I'll send him some drinks before the bottle just so, you know. Oh, yeah. And you've got some little tricks up your sleeve like that?

1:03:51Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm going to make sure he's not ready. I love it. And talk to me about this court chains they're going to have to help make it make sense. So basically, I'll be on the side with like a smaller court. Got it. So he has a smaller area to play into. Yeah, to hit. And he's going to be on the regular side. So kind of like unfair already, right? I don't know if it's unfair. And I think we're going to have one serve age. That's it. That's very exciting. Where is it taking place? We're still trying to figure it. Okay. I want to come watch. Come. So you're going to let me know. Yeah.

1:04:30I'll come to you. You're going to sit on my side. I'll cheer for you. I'll cheer for you. Thank you. I'm going to message Nick now and I'm cheering for Irina. I love it. I'm on your side. Yeah. Thank you. I love it. Irina, is there anything I haven't asked you that you wish I did ask you? You know, I think you, I mean, you know what you do. You know what you do. You ask everything I wish of talking about. Yeah, I'm making sure because I don't take these opportunities for granted. I feel so lucky that I get to sit with you 48 hours after winning. I feel so fortunate I get to speak to one of the best.

1:05:05I'm so happy. Number one in the world. I'm so happy to be in your podcast and it's been a dream of mine for so long. And finally we did it. We did it. Thank you. 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. Okay. But I always, I always go away from that. So don't worry about it. Okay, let's see. Irina Savilenko, these are your final five. The first question is, what is the best advice you've ever heard or received? 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 who said that to you my father that's awesome how old were you when he first said that he said it to me when i was 17 i think okay he was waiting probably for the moment for me to be ready to uh i don't know to um accept some sort of deep advice actually.

1:06:06How long before you feel you really took it to heart and really understood it? Maybe when he passed away. You know, I feel like when we're losing a person, this is the moment when we actually realize how much we lost, you know, and we appreciate every little small detail and the memories keep 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 do you keep any physical part of him on you anytime when you're playing or in your bag or anywhere or not really that's it's more in your heart and your mind 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 it's beautiful uh question number two what is the worst advice you've ever heard or received you know like bad things never stay in my head so good answer i i don't remember any like bad advice it's good answer work with img maybe.

1:07:44Good answer. All right. Very cool. Uh, question number three, I'm going to 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. Yeah. I think, uh, to your mind, uh, the semi-final against Madison key said they used to open two years, two years ago i think yeah two years why that one because i was down set and i think 5-1 or something and i came back in the match and i won that one and i made my first final so i think there was the moment when when i realized a lot of things how does it feel to be 5-1 down oh it feels uh it's terrible it's a terrible feeling but you're still hoping that maybe how do you keep hope in that moment because five ones literally like yeah it's like okay you're like a few points especially about against big server you know you're like ah no chance i don't know what are you holding on to 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 it 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 figure something and you find your game, you read them and you get the win.

1:09:07And I did it. And it was kind of like a life-changing moment. Then, oh, 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 a waste of time, you know. And the third one... Your life was definitely not a waste of time. No, but you know, it would be really difficult for me to finish my career without the slam. And the third one, I don't know. I don't know. 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 it's three it's amazing that the two of the ones you chose are when you're down yeah and you come back like there's something 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 five one seriously you you think that I'm gonna give up like that just because I like lose my surf or whatever.

1:10:29So it just gives you that power to fight. Yeah. It's a great reminder to all of us that no matter what, those are the moments to look out for because they become your best or they become your best glory. Stay there, stay there, keep fighting. And this is, this is probably the biggest moment. Yeah. Uh, question number three, what do you think people misunderstand about you that you'd like to clarify? Well, I think because now I'm sharing myself more on social media they have better understanding about me but I think there are still some people that they think that the way I am on court this is like a reflection of me off court which is not true because I think as I said earlier you know I'm quite aggressive because I'm on court because I'm fighting for my dream there and this is not the time where you You have to be nice.

1:11:17Yeah. 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. Probably my boyfriend will say different, but I still think. Yeah. So people misunderstand that, that I'm different. 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. Yeah. That's on the court. That's arena on the court. Yeah. And that's not arena off court. Yeah. I get that. I mean, this sounds ridiculous, but it's so true. Like me and my friends just play amateur everything.

1:11:57Like I don't play any sport well, but we get so competitive just playing around. So I can't imagine. I love watching like, you know, people play tennis for fun. That's what I mean. I can't imagine. But they're not taking it as fun, you know, they go full. Exactly. And you're like actually playing a tournament. like I'm like 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 and 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're you've realized yeah like a little bit like you know like stop yourself and like look at everything as a bigger picture you know like okay yeah definitely uh number question number four before the fifth which where do i want to go here one day long time from now we hope you're going to win so many more grand slams 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 i would love to look back and say i've done everything i could and i want my career to be remembered like and then 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 i love that I love that you already are you already are sort of not even close to the greatest but we're trying yeah the trying the trying is the most important part it's wonderful to hear you say that it's really special if you remind kids to try I think that would help a lot of kids yeah because 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 just give your best and that's that's all you you can do yeah fifth and final question arena 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 i want everything to be decided in the conversation and no wars and stuff just like sit down speak and figure out all of the problems that's a great law that's what we need in the world right now save a lot of lives yeah save a lot of lives yeah if we were able to solve things by just by talking sitting and figuring and not leaving the room before you figured something yeah that's a great answer we never had that before Irina Savalenka congratulations again thank you thank you so much thank you for doing this thank you for having me I'm looking forward to you coming on many years usually when people come on once they come on a few times.

1:14:45So I look forward to doing this with you many, many times. Let's make it as our transition. Yes, I'd love that. I'd love that. Congrats. And thank you for bringing the first ever trophy on the show. You deserve it. And you're a true champion and a true leader. So thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you. 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. 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.

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