Betting on pratice games cost Aryna Sabalenka thousands

Aryna Sabalenka has just secured the US Open, winning the third Grand Slam victory in her career, and remaining one of the highest-ranking tennis players. She won after reaching the final for a fourth consecutive year.

While this is all interesting, Sabalenka drew attention to herself during a press conference after her defeat of Chinese rival Qinweh Zheng, ahead of the final game against Jessica Pegula, confessing that she had lost thousands on practice games.

Putting money on practice games to bring the pressure on

This did not have to do with a gambling impulse whatsoever, nor the desire to bet on sports. Rather, it was a strategy used by her coach who often wagered on her practice games in a bid to motivate her to do better.

Failing to win a practice game would see her pay "thousands" to the coach. The strategy was adopted by her teammates at her training camp, with everyone competing for money against everyone else. However, none of this should be misconstrued as alarming or unethical.

Rather, Sabalenka explained that it was a thing that players at the camp readily consented to and could opt out of if they didn’t agree with it. For her part, she didn’t mind winning her coach’s money.

"Well, my coach put the money on the table when we play set or match with my hitting partner. Usually, it's quite a decent amount of money. The money from your coach is the sweetest money, you know," she said cited by media outlets.

She admitted to losing $5,000 in a single game, only to win that amount on another occasion. Personally, Sabalenka has seen a lot of value in having money on the line when practicing, as it has allowed her to compete even more determinedly and give her best during those matches.

Sabalenka finds that putting money on the line is highly motivating

Although this practice could suggest that players at the training camp are exposed to a lot more pressure than normal athletes, Sabalenka is not alone in embracing a new trend amongst elite athletes – switching completely off when off the court.

Sabalenka herself admits that although the pressure of both official tournaments and practice games could be too much on occasion, the good part comes after that – when she walks away from the camp or from a tournament and "switches off," forgetting all about tennis. It helps her recover.

Now, it seems, it has helped her secure a third Grand Slam title. She is still ranked the world’s #2 ahead of Coco Gauff, and behind Iga Swiatek.

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