"I was close to giving up": Aryna Sabalenka opens up on how she nearly ended her career in tennis amid the 2026 US Open loss

Aryna Sabalenka is easily one of the most talented athletes in the world even as she suffered a loss in the 2026 US Open. The 28 year old tennis star is now gearing up for the China Open which begins in the next 10 days. But it seems, at one point in her life, Aryna Sabalenka wanted to give up on her stellar career.Aryna Sabalenka reflects on how she wanted to end her career in tennis but it is her family that kept her going through all the challenging daysA few months ago, in an interview with Vogue, the 4 Grand Slams title winner Aryna Sabalenka reflected on the challenges she faced in her life as she said, “There was a period when I was probably nine when I was close to giving up. But I saw how proud my dad was of me, and I didn’t want to disappoint him. And then I fell in love again with the sport, much more than before.”The 28 year old Belarusian professional tennis star added, “After I lost my father, it’s always been my goal to put our family name in the history of tennis…”Aryna Sabalenka continued, “Every time I see my name on that trophy, I’m so proud of myself, I’m proud of my family that they never gave up on my dream and that they were doing everything they could to keep me going.”While Aryna Sabalenka has had a successful career in tennis, she has often opened up about the challenges her family faced while raising her and her siblings.To make things worse, when the tennis star was just 13 years old, Aryna Sabalenka’s parents faced financial issues but they never let their children know what was happening.Despite the secrecy, Aryna Sabalenka has often spoken about how she and her siblings always knew the financial challenges their family was facing even though their parents tried to keep things private.Aryna Sabalenka reflects on witnessing her father’s death and how he could have been saved Later, in 2019, Aryna Sabalenka ended up losing her father to sepsis and she has often reflected on how he became a victim of medical negligence after he was refused to be taken to the hospital at the right time by paramedics.In the same interview with Vogue, the 4 Grand Slams title winner Aryna Sabalenka reflected on how she was training in Minsk during the November offseason when her father passed away.She said, “I was like, let me f–king carry him to the hospital myself if the ambulance isn’t taking him…They took him on the third day, and it was too late.”Despite the challenges she faced, Aryna Sabalenka kept her focus on her career and is one of the greatest athletes in the world today.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.