Most can only dream of juggling the extra stress that builds on the eve of a Grand Slam title defence, much less the hype around a bid for a major three-peat.
The added pressure when returning as a two-time defending champion is a small price to pay and a rare privilege only four active players have confronted – Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka and, now, Aryna Sabalenka.
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Only two of those – Swiatek and Djokovic – have delivered at the third time of asking at the same major, the Pole for the first time at last year’s Roland Garros.
Sabalenka could do so at the end of the fortnight in Melbourne.
For the first time in three years, Swiatek has returned to Melbourne without the No.1 seed alongside her name, a marked contrast to the build-up to her impending treble in Paris last May, and an experience with which Sabalenka must now grapple.
“I thought you wanted to talk about my three-peat in the fourth round,” she grinned in response to her last-16 exits at Melbourne Park in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
“Depends on the player, I guess. We handle pressure in a different way. For sure you need to ask Aryna about that.
“In Roland Garros for me, I don't know, it's always super special. I would say I felt the most pressure in 2023, because that was the first time I felt like I need to defend my title because after 2020, I honestly thought this [winning] happened by mistake anyway.
“I was like, ‘Oh, no one will expect me to repeat that probably’. But in 2023, the pressure was high. I felt that on court and off the court. Last year, 2024, I felt good.”
Once those initial media and sponsor commitments were out of the way and the familiar routine of match day took hold again, much of it came down to how well the three-peat contender worked their way into the tournament.
“I guess it depends how you play, as well,” Swiatek said. “We get confident when we see our game. Aryna has obviously a great game to play here.
“Also, it's a two-week tournament. Even if you struggle at the beginning, you don't know what's going to happen later. You might get a perfect feeling anyway, or the opposite. I guess we'll see.”
A brutal draw last time round at Melbourne Park required the Pole to withstand the back-to-back challenges of former champion Sofia Kenin and her 2022 semifinal vanquisher Danielle Collins. Czech upstart Linda Noskova proved the unlikely foil in a third-round boilover.
In her seventh AO campaign, the 23-year-old faces another Czech, world No.46 in singles and No.1 in doubles, Katerina Siniakova, for the first time in the opening round.
Five United Cup singles tussles – including wins over Karolina Muchova, Katie Boulter and Elena Rybakina before a defeat to Coco Gauff in Poland’s loss to the US in the final – not to dismiss two mixed doubles wins alongside Hubert Hurkacz – has Swiatek match-hardened for what lay ahead.
“United Cup, you know that you're going to play at least two singles matches. It's important,” she said. “I already played some, like, thrilling matches that were even too long sometimes.
“I also feel like I had tough moments, I had easy moments, and I had moments where I needed to push through. I think it's great preparation before the first Slam.”