Aryna Sabalenka Is Ready To Get “Back on Track” For The US Open

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1:20This is The Run-Through, and I'm Chloe Mao. Today, I am joined by my lovely co-host, Nicole Phelps. Hi, Chloe. And today on the show, we have a very exciting conversation that you, Nicole, and Vogue's senior editor, Corey Seymour, conducted with tennis superstar, Irina Sabalenka. This was a live podcast recording at the Gucci Fifth Avenue flagship. Irina is a Gucci gal. And we, as you'll recall, had an amazing Stephen Klein photographed digital cover of Irina that ran right before the French Open in May, but is running in our September issue. And so it was very exciting and timely for you guys to get to speak to Irina.

2:06And also as she was launching into the U.S. Open. What were the highlights? I haven't heard the conversation yet. Well, we talked about her Gucci fit, of course. It was Look 18 in the fall show and talked about her fabulous engagement ring and some wedding planning. We need that wedding. And yes, we need that wedding if you're listening, Irina. And we also talked about her sweet puppy, I guess, who's no longer a puppy, Ash. Ooh, Future Dog. Yes, Future Dog, who she got after she won the U.S. Open last year. She made a deal with her team that if she won, she would get a puppy. Oh, wow. And the reason she needed to do that, of course, is because she's busy and she would count on the team to watch the dog when she's playing her matches.

2:54Oh, yes. I recall this from Rob Haskell's excellent profile of her. And in it, Ash, the puppy who is named for Arthur Ashe Stadium, was peeing all over the hotel room. So it was a real portrait of chaos. Hopefully, Ash has been potty trained by now. And what Corey Seymour, who is blessedly for the rest of us our resident tennis nut and really where Anna channels all of her tennis passion, he – was he starstruck? Well, he'd met her before. So they were actually sort of chummy. And, you know, he was at Indian Wells earlier this year and he interviewed her. And so he pressed her on some of the more intense, yes, on-court details, which I know nothing about.

3:48What was so exciting is that she was playing like 12 hours later, basically. She was doing mixed doubles with Novak Djokovic. Because this was Tuesday evening. This was Monday evening. Monday evening. She was playing yesterday on Tuesday. And they actually lost, but I think it was, you know, either way, it's good for the U.S. Open to have two huge stars like Irina and Novak playing together. And so it's off. It's happening. What is your feeling about live tapings, Nicole? Well, they're definitely harder to do than not live tapings. I think you're not only trying to connect with the person across from you.

4:28You're connecting with the audience. And whether or not you're not connecting, you can sort of read their reactions. Are they fiddling? Are they getting bored? That's, you know, the worst. What about you? I feel like you're serving two masters in a way. You are both, you want to engage the audience that's there with you, but you also need to be thinking about the listeners. So if you're gesturing to something, it's not going to work. You want it to be something that can just be listened to. And I also feel that sometimes the logistics you're thinking about more, you're juggling more. It feels like a more, you need to be more dexterous to get through it.

5:11Like even it wasn't a live podcast recording, but at the Teen Vogue Fest, I interviewed Maisie Williams and Joey King. And the audience could hear them, but I couldn't hear Maisie. And so I was sort of only heard like 60 percent of what she was saying. So you're just always trying to catch up a bit, I find. But it's also really fun to be in a room with people who are very excited to be part of the podcast. Like for the Devil Wears Prada screening interview with Billy Norwich and Kate Young. The people were so engaged and excited. And I think that also can be lovely. Yes, Irina was swarmed after our interview.

5:47interview people coming up to her talking about, you know, the rackets they bought inspired by her and hopefully some of the Gucci pieces they bought too. So. Are you a tennis person or anyone in your family? My husband a little bit more, but we're American football family. Tennis is not something I'm going to watch at home, but I do find it really fun to go to the U.S. Open and it is something I really enjoy getting the opportunity to do. So I'm very excited. I'm going next Wednesday. Do you know what match you're seeing? Absolutely no idea. It hasn't even occurred to me to look.

6:24Well, I'm very excited about your and Corey's convo with Arena. But before we get to that, a couple of headlines for the week. The Vogue office is, I mean, the slack reactions to the news of Dolly Parton was just seismic in our office. It was very sad. But also I found it very touching how quickly people published stories from all, you know, from the fashion team to our beauty editor to obviously an obit and the best photos of her. Like, she is just so universally beloved. And we were all very sad but very excited to celebrate her. I think that's the nicest thing when someone passes away is people's collective urge to celebrate someone.

7:09Yeah, I spent my evening going through my Instagram and seeing all the tributes and singing along with my husband and our house guest. We did Islands in the Stream. Oh, wow. And 9 to 5. Wow. And I tried to get them to do Hard Candy Christmas, which is a little bit more obscure in her ouvre. It's from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, an early 1980s movie that I'm sure you haven't seen. But it's a great song. Wow. Wow. I'm very impressed with that. Well, I actually have a children's book that's like one of those little golden books that's Who is Dolly Parton that Alice really likes because she has the coat of many colors and she made that as a child.

7:50So I'm going to be sobbing reading that to Alice's weekend. I also heard a biographer of Dolly Parton discussing this morning on NPR how generous Dolly was about people covering her songs. And I thought that she was unique in that way, that she encouraged it. She felt that her songs should have life beyond them. And I thought that that was really lovely and generous and something interesting to think about when everyone's so protective of their— She also does a very good cover herself. herself, Dolly, along with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt of After the Gold Rush by Neil Young. And that was another song that I listened to last night.

8:29We'll be thinking about Dolly and her family this week for sure. Also, the Dolly musical is coming to Broadway this winter. Very exciting. Try getting a ticket to that. I know. It's going to have a lot more gravitas now. So as we are recording this, I see that Tim Curry has sadly died, which I'm a big fan. I love him in Clue, but I know he reaches far beyond that, but I do always think of him in Clue and obviously Rocky Horror. I thought of him a lot when I went to see the new Broadway show of Rocky Horror because I think it's so hard to separate him from that role. but Luke Evans did a very good job of paying homage.

9:15I am going to go with Annie, 1982 Annie. Oh, my God. Good call. I just watched that. I think that was maybe one of the first movies I saw in the movie theater as a child. Wow. We watched that two weeks ago when we were on vacation. Did you love it? Did the kids love it? We only—it's very long. We only got to—it's like over two hours, which for my children is like an eternity. So we only we didn't get to the kidnapping part, which is Tim Curry's big moment as the bad guy, which I think Arthur would have been most excited by. He got bored around the FDR moment. He's going to be a history. Yeah. But I anyway, yes, that is a great Tim Curry.

9:57And he's dating Bernadette Peters in it. It's a whole thing. Chloe. Yes. How was the September issue event at Casa Magazines? I love the picture of you with Kaya and Homer. Looking very short. She had on very high heels. She had on the highest Gucci heels I've ever seen. Those are the ones that Irina was wearing on Monday night. And already her legs are like stilts. So it was like stilts on stilts. It was a very impressive work. The event was really fun and so charming because Kaya Gerber and Homer Gear both joined us at the West Village Casa Magazines, which is, for those who don't know, a great old-school magazine shop that really is a celebration of print media.

10:41You walk into Casa and it just smells like paper. And Homer and Kaya came and signed issues for subscribers, and they got behind the counter. They learned how to do cash register, checkout. They were very excited. They figured out Apple Pay. And people were really excited to see them. And a lot of people came in saying, I love the show, last night's episode, blah, blah, blah. So it also made me think about the power of releasing TV serially rather than the drop, which we become used to. I think that it's very – it's good for a collective experience, that people were really hanging on this week's episode in a way that you wouldn't with an episode.

11:27If you're binging. Binge is the word I was looking for. Um, Kai looked fab. She was wearing a chocolate brown Gucci tank top and satin trousers. And as we said, the highest heels I've ever seen. And the heel, the stiletto was the width of a pin. It was a safety pin, thick stiletto. I just couldn't look away. I think Homer's so cute, though, too. I love that. I love the navy blazer and the faded jeans. It's so 1980s. He looks so cute. He working with when we did the September shoot, he was like, I think I'm going to need to work with a stylist. Do you have any ideas? And I sent him a few ideas and he ended up working with Sandra Amador.

12:09She's doing a great job. I think he looks great. And he's just lovely. And we had a good time. And it was fun to see we had also our run-through phone booth, which was a great idea with an old-school phone, rotary phone, that people could pick up the phone and heard my voice saying, leave a question for Vogue. And all of these young subscribers, there were three roommates who are students at FIT. Two were twins and one was a third roommate. And they were there from 3 p.m., like an hour before Homer and Kaya got there and stayed until 6 p.m. They were such big fans. They left questions. And it was really fun to hear what they were interested in.

12:52Arden Fanning left a question that I'm already thinking about, which is, what is Anna's favorite cover of Vogue and what is your favorite cover of Vogue? I remember Anna answered that in the September issue, which was the next one. But then we also had the New Yorkina Popsicles, which is a delicious Popsicle Purveya. I love horchata, and they had a horchata Popsicle, which was delicious. And then Kai and Homer, they zipped off to Arthur Ashe Stadium because Anna was hosting an event celebrating Roger Federer induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame. And there was a special match. Roger was on the court.

13:35Very exciting. Let's talk about our CVFF visits. We have been out of office this week in the afternoons going all over Manhattan and Brooklyn to see the Fashion Fund finalists. It's true. I have to say when I—this is my first year judging the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund finalists. And I was worried when I started doing this that it was going to just be such a time investment. And I knew about these studio visits, and I was like, oh, it's going to be so hard. And now it's been, you know, you sort of group them together and it's three afternoons in August and it is such a joy and such a reminder of why we do what we do.

14:17I've really been inspired and enjoying it and also to see the variety and how different the sensibilities and the experiences of each one of them are and how that's represented in the spaces they inhabit. And I feel like what I've always loved about the Fashion Fund is that it really creates this community and compatriotism between these designers, but they're all so different. Like we went to Juju Vera, the jewelry designer, and she said, Emily Dawn Long shared her painter with me and he's painting my new studio. And so it's been really nice to see that. Emily Dawn Long was burning a very pungent Flamingo Estate tomato candle.

15:03So I'm still thinking about that. It smelled very good. Yeah, they are so different, but yet there are things that hold them all together. I think a lot of them are thinking about responsible and sustainable design. I think they're thinking about like a right-sized brand, you know. Maybe a few of them aspire to be the Ralph Lauren of the next 25 years. but there's others who I think are quite happy, you know, with making and being hands-on and not turning into a juggernaut or a giant. And I'm very excited for the process to continue and to see how they do with the design challenge and how they do meeting all of the people who will see them at Americans in Paris during the showrooms there.

15:54No, and it'll be interesting to see the different presentations and shows they do at New York Fashion Week. I am also always interested to see how designers who were in their early days manage that presentation because it's obviously so expensive to stage an actual runway show. And it's nice to see the creative approaches that people take for that, whether it's just having a cocktail salon style presentation in your showroom or Emily Don Long is filming a short film featuring the new collection and then screening that on loop at Bridges Restaurant during Fashion Week. So people get scrappy. And I do like to see the way people handle that.

16:42Nicole, tell us about, there's two fashion stories this week that I have saved because I'm really excited to read them. Hannah's story on what people spent in a month, fashion people, and Alex's story about all of the heads of editorial content choices of emerging designers. Yeah, well, I think both pieces were a lot of work, first getting people to agree to share, even anonymously, what they spend on fashion in a month. But we, Hannah, did get three people to sign on. And from different walks of fashion life, an editor, a publicist, and a collector. And what was so interesting about Hannah's reporting with the piece about how much people spend on fashion is the massive, massive discrepancy between different types.

17:33So we have the editor who tallied up$194.72 worth of fashion spending, and the collector who called it a light month, but spent$89 ,894.35. I don't believe you. She's a big Prada lover, or he's a big Prada lover. I do not know. Wow. It takes all kinds. And then Alex Hildreth did yeoman's work reaching out to all of the HOECs around the world, owned and operated, licensees. We've got them all. They've all weighed in. Twenty-nine. They've weighed in with under-the-radar emerging promising and exciting new talents in their regions. And I think it shows the breadth and strength of Vogue, but also just how many people are out there trying to put their fashion message forward.

18:38And it's a very diverse group of talents, so it's worth a read. No, I think I'm really excited to look through that. I have to say that idea came up because we were, you know, we have monthly meetings with all of the Vogue licensees, the editors from the 19 Vogue editions that are not owned and operated by Condé Nast, but licensed. And we were asking a few different Vogue editors to share talent that they were excited about in their region. And it was such a treat to hear from Venya about which three Ukrainian designers he was most excited about. And was like, oh, I've heard of that one, but not that one.

19:18I'm going to look it up. And Virginia and I were Googling. And it's a nice thing to be looking at that. So that was sort of born of that exercise.

19:28All right, off we go into Nicole and Corey's conversation with the indomitable Irina Sabalenka. The run-through will be back in just a moment.

19:49Hey, Chicago. Class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new fave footwear? Step into a local croc store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest croc store today. Propel Fitness Water. With Gatorade electrolytes, zero sugar, and vitamins, Propel hydrates better than water to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self. What propels you? Propel with Gatorade Electrolytes.

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20:55Without further ado, let's welcome Irina.

21:07Hello, everyone. I would like to give just the very briefest of backgrounds for those of you who are not aware of this woman's unbelievable accomplishments. I'm sure you probably are. She's won four Grand Slam titles. She is the two-time defending champion of the U.S. Open here, gunning for a three-peat starting next week. And she has been the number one ranked player in the world for 90 weeks straight. Congratulations. Thank you. Well, once again, we're so happy to be here with you on stage. And let's start by you telling us a little bit about your season so far. Well, it's been a lot of ups and downs.

21:50I would say that I started the season really well on a strong note, but then, you know, something went really off the hill, but I'm getting back on track. I'm working really hard to, you know, to hopefully win the Youth Open for the third time. So as an athlete, you know, you face some ups and downs, and I'm super excited for the future. Hopefully it's done for the down part of the game and it's now time to go up. Yes. Irina, I saw you at Indian Wells earlier this year and you told me a story about how last year at the Open you made a deal with your team. Oh, yeah. That if you won the Open, you would get the puppy that you had been wanting forever and ever and ever.

22:34I've been thinking for I don't know how many years on getting a puppy. And then we made a deal and I won it and we got a puppy. So my question is, what's the deal this year? You know what, we have to, I mean, Ash needs a friend, so it's probably going to be the same. Okay. Tell us about your pre-match prep. How do you get ready? Well, it depends when I play. When I play evening matches, I just like to, you know, slowly start my day, have a good breakfast with a beautiful view, I have a cup of coffee, then do some mobility, and then I go inside. I do warm-up on court. Then I spend some time with my team, having a dinner, having a laugh, kind of like stay away from the tension of playing the match.

23:31And then right before the match, it's a full game mode. It's super focused and ready-to-go mode. Hmm. Well, what do you do when you come to New York for fun? I know you're working very hard, but are there places you like to go specifically other than Gucci to shop? Yeah, it's only Gucci, to be honest, actually. Yeah. What about eating? I don't come to New York really often. It's like, actually, it's a good show, the occasion that I come or um i don't know just some maybe a couple dinners in polo bar i've been really um hooked to this restaurant it was it's amazing and uh yeah it's polo bar sun ridges gucci shopping or gucci show and that's it that's all i do in new york you have a something of a big day tomorrow i think it's 11 a.m oh yeah it's 11 a.m you are playing mixed doubles in the new format that the Open has been doing starting last year where they're encouraging higher ranked players that are maybe not doubles specialists to get into the doubles and you're playing with Novak.

24:39You guys are friends? Yes. Yeah? Does that make it easier to play with him? Harder to play with him? It's super easy. I just told him like you're gonna go do the job and I'll be just there for pictures, for posing, you know. I'm pretty relaxed. I know that he's going to do the job. No, but for real, I think it's always fun to play with Novak, and I always enjoy playing mix with him. We had a lot of exhibitions that we played together, and we had fun, and I'm expecting to have fun and to play some good tennis and just enjoy the time on court. Are you guys friends in the way that you would go to him if you're, I don't know, talking about your game or something you want to work on, you're struggling, or are you just sort of hang out friends?

25:20um do you is he a mentor in any way with oh of course Novak is definitely a mentor and um whenever like I feel like asking a question he's always open for that and I just go and I talk about tennis asking for advice and we also can go um like double day dinners uh um with him and his wife so um it's kind of like both we can can have fun we can talk serious about tennis he's always He's open for advice, and he's fun, so it's very easy to be around with him. Have you seen the documentary about him that came out last week? I have to say that I haven't watched it yet. I've talked to a couple of players today, and actually none of the players seem to have seen it yet, but it's amazing.

26:03Yeah, I'm excited to see that. I just finished the Nadal one, and I'm really excited to watch it. I'm sure it's an incredible story. Very cool. So you are, as we said already, the best in the game right now. But the journey hasn't necessarily been linear. As you mentioned, there are moments when you've been winning and moments when you have lost. You spoke to Rob Haskell for Vogue about your mindset on losing. And I found it quite inspiring what you said. You said, it's a learning process. If I didn't really care and was like, whatever, on to the next one, I wouldn't learn. Does that hold true for you still?

26:44Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's annoying to lose and to try to figure out what's going on. And the whole learning process is annoying. I would love to just win everything. But I feel like without losing, nothing will feel that special. And it's part of the process. This is how you get better, basically. Sometimes you have to fail a thousand times in order to win something big. So I'm trying to enjoy the journey fully with my ups and downs and trying to learn to get better. Because I feel like, you know, it's not going to be forever, the learning and losing process. And there's like little, you know, like you just have to overcome something and learn.

27:29And then it's only the way up. So I'm excited for the way up every time when I'm facing some downs. Serena Williams gave an interview recently and she said she's a big fan of you and your game and the way you play. Oh, that's amazing to hear. Powerful game. She also said she liked it that she felt that you are allowed to express your anger on court in a way that she feels that she wasn't. Well, there's different ways to do that. But I feel like, I don't know, like who stopped her from that? She was also, I feel like she was also like the one who would just let it go. I wouldn't really feel that she's the one who was like holding so much inside.