'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABiAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgcQAAIBBAMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAIDBAABBRIRITEVIgEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAURAAEEAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMRBBIhMkGy/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDJ8Tg8ZncLJn5GJHb8dKJK1gGgv1Ij0f7sPfHXFQMnErkyXPCVKQLWEYqAg1CxX51H8+WpSrUpJynuNE0etuRQsqWSOQta6gNPkFf/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Victoria Azarenka and Paula Badosa congratulated Aryna Sabalenka on winning the Adelaide International 1.
Sabalenka had the best of starts to her 2023 season by winning the WTA 250 event without dropping a single set. She beat Liudmila Samsonova, Marketa Vondrousova, and Irina-Camelia Begu before defeating Linda Noskova 6-3, 7-6(4) in the final.
It was Sabalenka's first WTA singles title since the 2021 Madrid Open and took to Instagram to post about it. The Belarusian shared an image of herself kissing the trophy with her caption reading:
"What a great start of the year,thank you @adelaideinternational for an amazing week! I enjoyed every moment here."
Azarenka and Badosa both lauded Aryna Sabalenka's triumph, with the Spaniard sending a heart emoji while the former World No. 1 commented with a string of clap emojis.
Badosa's boyfriend Juan Betancourt also congratulated Sabalenka on her victory.
Sabalenka and Badosa are close friends and often partnered one another in doubles tournaments last season. The two dined together in Dubai ahead of the World Tennis League, with Badosa calling the Belarusian her soulmate.
"Not really"- Aryna Sabalenka on whether she felt it was a long time since she won a title
Aryna Sabalenka hadn't won a singles title since winning the 2021 Madrid Open. She reached the final of the WTA Finals along with a few semifinals in 2022 but could not come out on top.
However, the 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist managed to bag the Adelaide International 1 and was asked in her post-match press conference if she felt like it was too long since she won a title. Sabalenka said that she did not feel that way but was happy to have a title to her name.
"Not really because last year I played some finals. I had some opportunities to win. I don't feel that way. But time goes so quick. Oh, my God. Yeah, super happy to keep winning the titles. For the moment, I thought like, Okay, Madrid was the last one, I guess, after a couple of finals I lost. But happy having this baby," the World No. 5 said.
Sabalenka will not feature in any of the tournaments taking place in the coming week as she will next compete in the Australian Open. The Belarusian is seeded fifth in the Asia-Pacific Major.
