Aryna Sabalenka jokingly says her Spanish proficiency is limited to bad words and "Vamos"

Aryna Sabalenka has divulged that her Spanish language proficiency is limited to certain bad words and "Vamos" which roughly translates to "let's go."

Following her victory over Mirra Andreeva in the third round, the Belarusian tennis player faced off against Mayar Sherif in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open on May 2. Sabalenka staged a comeback after losing the first set, ultimately winning the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 and advancing to the last four.

During her on-court interview after the match, Sabalenka was asked whether she could greet the Madrid fans in Spanish. The Belarusian joked that all she knew in Spanish were "Vamos" and some bad words that she obviously preferred not to utter.

"I don’t know. Vamos. The rest is the bad words I don’t want to say," Sabalenka said.

Reflecting on her performance, Sabalenka admitted that it was a tough match against her Egyptian opponent, who played "unbelievable" tennis.

"Honestly I was just trying to keep fighting," the World No. 2 said. "I enjoy playing my game and tried to find my rhythm, she played unbelievable tennis. I would say she's a clay-court specialist and I'm really happy with this win. It was a very tough one."

Sherif had an impressive run at the WTA 1000, defeating Camila Giorgi, Anhelina Kalinina, Caroline Garcia, and Elise Mertens en route to the quarterfinals. However, she was unable to counter Sabalenka's power-hitting on Tuesday.

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Aryna Sabalenka to face Maria Sakkari in the Madrid Open semifinals

Aryna Sabalenka at the 2023 Madrid Open

Aryna Sabalenka will next face Maria Sakkari in the semifinals of the Madrid Open on Thursday (May 4). This will be their ninth meeting on tour.

Sabalenka leads Sakkari 5-3 in the head-to-head. The Belarusian prevailed in the duo's most recent encounter at the 2023 Indian Wells in straight sets (6-2, 6-3).

During a recent press conference, Sakkari acknowledged that Sabalenka is currently playing the best tennis on tour.

"We all know she's in top form right now. She's the one that is playing the best tennis right now, better than anyone else," Sakkari said.

"Obviously it's not hard court, her favourite surface, but she won this tournament and she's playing very good," she added.

However, Sakkari is confident about putting up a good fight given her capabilities on clay.

"I believe I can play good on clay court, I believe I can play good here. Let's see how it goes. I'm very curious to see how different it will play compared to other times we've played each other," the World No. 9 opined.

Sakkari triumphed over Arantxa Rus, Rebeka Masarova, Paula Badosa and Irina-Camelia Begu in the opening rounds.