World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka shared her настрое (mindset) for the Stuttgart tournament.
“I lost three finals to the world`s top-ranked players (once to Ashleigh Barty and twice to Iga Swiatek). Now I`ve come here as No. 1. There`s a special significance to that. Those three tough matches are still with me, they ignite a spark within me. If I reach the final again, my thirst for victory and concentration will be unprecedented,” Sabalenka said at a press conference.
The Belarusian player also spoke about the demand from Top-20 players to raise prize money at Grand Slam tournaments.
“We create the show, and I believe we deserve a larger percentage of the revenue from Grand Slam tournaments. If you compare it to other sports like the NHL or NBA, the difference in the share of prize money is obvious. I don`t want to deeply compare different disciplines, but I am sure we deserve a fairer distribution at every tournament.”
