Struggling Sabalenka 'always confident' as she eyes third straight US Open title

[p]The world number one from Belarus arrives in New York following a disappointing run of recent results and has not won a tournament since her victory in the Miami Open in March.[/p][p]However, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion insists she is ready to turn the page at Flushing Meadows over the next fortnight, a venue that has been a happy hunting ground for her in recent years with back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025.[/p][p]"[b]Always confident[/b]," the 28-year-old told reporters about her mindset.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Sabalenka[/a] started the year in blistering form, with a win in Brisbane before reaching the final of the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a].[/p][embed guid="3529c37c-0281-43cd-93de-87e3114512a5" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_-MwjBPMI0" social-type="youtube" /][p]She bounced back from that loss to complete the 'Sunshine Double' with wins at Indian Wells and Miami but has not challenged for a title since.[/p][p]She exited in the quarter-finals at the French Open and was bundled out in the fourth round at Wimbledon by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osaka-naomi/MDM4BKiA/"]Naomi Osaka[/a].[/p][p]Those defeats were followed by fourth-round exits at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open earlier this month, leaving Sabalenka with everything to prove heading to New York.[/p][p]Sabalenka, though, said she is confident of playing her way out of poor form.[/p][p]"[b]That's the beauty of sport[/b]," she said. "[b]Throw tough challenges at me, I will come back only stronger[/b].[/p][p]"[b]It wasn't the best period. I don't want to defend myself, but obviously I just don't want to talk about that period. I've been dealing with several things[/b].[/p][p]"[b]But who cares, right? I didn't perform my best. These tough lessons are definitely going to make me way, way stronger and working even harder[/b].[/p][image alt="Sabalenka looks on during practice" id="9e1d3cd9-295b-41da-ae0f-2c547f10cf9a" credit-line="Sarah Stier / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP / Profimedia" guid="14a564a1-642f-4a68-93b5-31a948807991" original-width="1400" original-height="933" /][p]"[b]I work on my mental side of the game. I was trying to reset my mind and to come back stronger, so it's only going to make me stronger. It's only a matter of time for me to come back[/b]."[/p][p]Sabalenka could become only the third woman after Chris Evert and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-serena/ttsu68nH/"]Serena Williams[/a] to win three consecutive US Opens if she claims the fifth Grand Slam title of her career in New York.[/p][p]"[b]They're the biggest, and they're legends. I was growing up looking up to them, and I loved the way they dominated the tour[/b]," Sabalenka said.[/p][p]"[b]So if I would be able to put my name kind of, like, slightly next to them, that means a lot to me[/b]."[/p]