Holding three Grand Slam titles from hard-court tournaments, Roland Garros has long eluded Aryna Sabalenka. The world number one has historically struggled on clay, but on Thursday, she turned a corner, defeating four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek to reach her first final in Paris. Key to her rise has been work with performance coach Jason Stacy, who has helped her find peace when pushed to physical and mental discomfort.
In an exclusive interview with Women’s Tennis Blog, the American detailed how his background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brings a unique perspective to the tennis star’s athletic development. To be clear, Sabalenka is not learning these moves to fight. When Women’s Tennis Blog asked her about the martial arts inspired training, she emphasized that it was about core strength and not combat: “The moment I realize how strong I am and I can do something, I’ll probably go really crazy on my team. I think they don’t want that, so they’re not really letting me do that. We will stick to soccer and these games.”
Stacy’s work began with a fundamental objective: fostering a deeper connection between the athlete and her own body. “Over the years, we’ve been working…
