{"id":2190831,"date":"2026-10-11T17:50:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2190831"},"modified":"2026-10-11T17:50:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:50:55","slug":"aryna-sabalenka-warned-by-jimmy-connors-over-worrying-distraction-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2190831","title":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka warned by Jimmy Connors over worrying &#8216;distraction&#8217; trend"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Aryna Sabalenka warned by Jimmy Connors over worrying \u2018distraction\u2019 trend<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-x-3 gap-y-1 md:gap-x-4 flex-wrap items-center\">\n                        <span class=\"ps-authors flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-1.5 max-w-full gap-y-0.5 text-sm font-normal text-author\"><span class=\"ps-author-item whitespace-nowrap\"><a class=\"ps-author text-sm font-normal !text-author\" rel=\"author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/richie-mills\">Richie Mills<\/a><\/span><\/span>                        <time class=\"flex-shrink-0 text-sm font-normal text-info\" datetime=\"11 Oct 2026 6:50 PM\" data-ps-date=\"11 Oct 2026 6:50 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1791741055\"><br \/>\n                            11 Oct 2026 6:50 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" 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href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Faryna-sabalenka-warned-jimmy-connors-worrying-distraction-trend\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" 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src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/3FNM5AG-1-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: A dejected-looking Aryna Sabalenka\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Jimmy Connors thinks Aryna Sabalenka has too many distractions right now                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Jimmy Connors believes that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/aryna-sabalenka\">Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> has \u201cother stuff\u201d on her mind and that is affecting her results on court.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/aryna-sabalenka\">Sabalenka<\/a> hasn\u2019t won a title since late March at the Miami Open, with the Belarusian since being deposed at the top of the rankings and going slamless in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Many pundits believe the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/aryna-sabalenka-no-john-mcenroe-only-thing-stopping-winning-slams-revealed\">28-year-old has a mentality problem<\/a> right now, with four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka suffering a string of disappointing defeats for more than six months.<\/p>\n<p>The world No 2 reacted angrily to the notion that she was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/aryna-sabalenkas-full-exchange-with-journalist-after-question-parties-fun\">partying too much in the lead-up to her US Open title defence<\/a>, which ultimately ended in a final defeat to new No 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/elena-rybakina\">Elena Rybakina<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But off the back of making her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/aryna-sabalenka-dream-catwalk-milan\">catwalk debut wearing a Gucci dress in Milan<\/a>, in addition to other off-court commercial dealings and more, eight-time major winner Connors has expressed his concern about Sabalenka.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Aryna Sabalenka News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\/wuhan-open-draw-aryna-sabalenka-iga-swiatek-same-quarter-alex-eala-qualifier\">Wuhan Open draw: Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in the same quarter, Alex Eala faces a qualifier<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/mirra-andreeva-favourite-elena-rybakina-aryna-sabalenka-wta-year-end-no-1\">Is Mirra Andreeva the favourite ahead of Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka to end as WTA year-end No 1?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He said on <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qPQneCDRnXs&amp;t=328s\" target=\"_blank\">Advantage Connors<\/a>, \u201cShe has other stuff on her mind. It\u2019s hard to do (juggle stuff). I like her game. She flat out thumps the ball. I\u2019ve watched her play when she wins and I\u2019ve watched her play when she loses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes going for the lines becomes a three or four inches to the wrong side. And you can\u2019t explain why that happens, but outside influences are a bad influence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When his co-host used the word \u201cdistraction\u201d, Connors said was a very apt word. The former world No 1 also stressed that if you have interests outside of tennis, they only get talked about if you start losing and in Sabalenka\u2019s case, that is happening more often than she would like.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when you practice and you\u2019re working on your game and you\u2019re trying to improve and trying to say, \u2018I can win this tournament\u2019, that distraction sometimes creeps in. And sometimes that\u2019s hard to fight against,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe going to have to regroup. I like her. She\u2019s going to have to get back into it and realise what makes everything else possible really in her life, you know, around tennis. That\u2019s the key because, if you\u2019re not winning, they ain\u2019t paying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka is set to play at the 1000 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\">WTA Tour<\/a> event in Wuhan in the coming week, before preparing for the Tour Finals at Indian Wells in November. Connors thinks that as the season is nearing its end, it may be a good time to reset and prepare for the 2027 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The American continued, \u201cSometimes it\u2019s good to get away for a bit. Regroup, work on your game, get your attitude right. Know what it takes because she knows what it takes to win. And now she\u2019s finding out what it takes to lose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like the way she plays. I like her attitude. I like her intensity. I like everything, but I also like her to win. So I hope she gets back on that trail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/zheng-qinwen-mirra-andreeva-ranking-points-prize-money-china-open-final\"><strong>Zheng Qinwen and Mirra Andreeva ranking points and prize money after China Open final<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aryna Sabalenka warned by Jimmy Connors over worrying \u2018distraction\u2019 trend Richie Mills 11 Oct 2026 6:50 PM Jimmy Connors thinks Aryna Sabalenka has too many distractions right now Jimmy Connors believes that Aryna Sabalenka has \u201cother stuff\u201d on her mind and that is affecting her results on court. Sabalenka hasn\u2019t won a title since late [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2190831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2190831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190831\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2190831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2190831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2190831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}