Aryna Sabalenka reveals car ride with late father led her to discover tennis by accident

Aryna Sabalenka revealed that she chanced upon tennis while driving around with her late father, Sergey. Bumping into the sport by accident paved the way for a career full of success stories and ultimately propelled her to the top of the WTA ranking.

Aryna Sabalenka has been one of the most prominent names in tennis, having first achieved the top rank in 2023, the second Belarusian to reach such success after Victoria Azarenka. The following year, she bagged her second and third Major titles and ended the year as No. 1. Carrying forward her excellence to the 2025 season, she had incredible runs in the Majors and defended her title in Flushing Meadows.

But whatever she is today dates back to the times when she drove around with her father, Sergey Sabalenka, and chanced upon tennis courts, which led her to fall in love with the sport. Speaking about how she discovered her passion at Audemars Piguet's 150th anniversary, Sabalenka said:

“Believe it or not, I found tennis by accident. One day, I was driving around with my dad, and we passed some tennis courts, so we got out of the car and I decided to try it. I immediately fell in love with the sport, and it has been a part of my life ever since."

The Belarusian, who inherited her athleticism from Sergey, lost him to meningitis in 2019.

Aryna Sabalenka once revealed that she promised to succeed in her career for her family

Sabalenka at the WTA Finals 2025 - Previews - Source: Getty

Aryna Sabalenka was deeply affected by her father's sudden passing, but it motivated her even more to make a name for herself. She made a promise to her mother, Yulia, and her sister, Tonechka, to put their family’s name on the map, as she shared during a press conference at the 2024 US Open.

"After I lost my father, it's always been my goal to put our family name in the history of tennis. 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.”

Aryna Sabalenka was in contention at the 2025 WTA Finals but fell to Elena Rybakina in the title match. This was the second time she had reached the final after 2022, when she lost to Caroline Garcia.

Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder