Hungry Sabalenka ready for more Slam success, Halep to skip Australian Open due to injury

World number one Aryna Sabalenka says she is ‘fresh and ready to go’ in her bid for a third straight Australian Open title, warning she has plenty of room for improvement.

The 26-year-old enjoyed a sensational 2024, reaching seven finals and winning four titles, including the US Open.

Her year was kickstarted by defending her Australian Open crown, beating China’s high-flying Zheng Qinwen in the final.

Should she win it again, she will become the first woman to claim three straight Melbourne Park singles titles since Martina Hingis between 1997-1999.

“I feel fresh and ready to go,” the Belarusian said, according to the WTA website on Thursday, after arriving for the Brisbane International which starts on Sunday ahead of the Australian Open from Jan.12.

“I love Australia and I always come here hungry and always come here ready.

“I feel all the support here, and I think that’s the best thing about Australia, that people are really, really, into tennis.”

Sabalenka also began 2024 in Brisbane, reaching the final without losing a set only to crash to Kazakstan’s Elena Rybakina in the decider.

She spent time in the off-season at her home in Florida before heading to the Middle East to prepare for Australia and will use the Brisbane tournament to fine-tune her Grand Slam preparations.

“You work hard on lots of things in the pre-season,” she said.

“The first tournament before the major tournament is the one where you can try it out and see what’s going to work well for you, and what’s not.”

Despite her rise through the ranks to be the player to beat heading into 2025, Sabalenka said there were still parts of her game that need work.

“Oh, there is so many things to improve,” she said.

“I mean, I’m not that good with maybe my game at the net in singles. There is a lot of things to improve in my touch game.

“There is so many things, even my serve is not as good as I want it to be, so there is always (elements) to improve.”

Meanwhile, Simona Halep will delay her start to the 2025 season and skip the Australian Open due to pain in her knee and shoulder, the former world number one said on Thursday.

Halep, whose career stalled due to a doping ban that was reduced on appeal this year, had received a wildcard for the Australian Open qualifying tournament last week. She had finished runner-up at the Melbourne major in 2018.

The 33-year-old had also been scheduled to play at a tune-up tournament in Auckland. Halep last played at the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week.

“After playing in Abu Dhabi, unfortunately I felt pain in my knee and shoulder once again. After discussing with my team at length, we agreed it is sensible to delay the start of my season,” Halep wrote on Instagram.

“It’s not what I wanted but I would like to thank the tournament organisers in Auckland and Australia for the wild cards and I’m sorry I won’t be able to take them this time.”

The Romanian said she intends to return at her home event in Cluj in early February.

Halep was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after she tested positive for roxadustat - a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells - at the US Open that year.

She was later banned for four years, a period which was cut to nine months in March following an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The 2019 Wimbledon champion has denied knowingly taking roxadustat, blaming contaminated supplements for her positive test.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is confident he can still win Grand Slams, starting at the Australian Open, with the Serbian kickstarting his bid for an unprecedented 11th title and record 25th major crown in Brisbane this week.

Agencies