Aryna Sabalenka celebrated winning back-to-back Australian Open championships in energetic style on Saturday as she danced off-court with Eurosport expert Barbara Schett-Eagle.
The Belarusian powered her way through the women’s singles tournament without dropping a single set.
Sabalenka put in a dominant performance at Rod Laver Arena, beating Zheng Qinwen 6-2, 6-3 to lift the trophy for the second year in a row.
The world number 2’s heroic performance on the court has made her a fan favorite in Melbourne, but the 25-year-old gained even more supporters after winning the Grand Slam title.
Speaking to Schett-Eagle, Sabalenka recalled “the first dance we did in Australia.”
Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open title for the second time in a row on Saturday evening
The Belarusian was overjoyed to win her second Grand Slam in front of a captivated audience
“I think this is the wind dance,” Sabalenka added. ‘And I actually forgot what that was. What is the dance?’
“Oh yeah, it was exactly like that,” Sabalenka said, before showing off her moves and urging Schett-Eagle to join in, telling her to just “jump.”
The two-time Grand Slam winner previously performed the dance at the start of the tournament as part of a TikTok trend with her coaching team.
Buoyed by her win in Melbourne, Sabalenka was later filmed walking down the stadium corridor carrying the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, which she affectionately called ‘Daphne’.
Fans called the move ‘iconic’ and said the player walked like ‘a queen’.
In her on-field comments, she thanked the fans and claimed the win had left her speechless
Sabalenka’s opponent Zheng Qinwen had little reaction to Sabalenka’s crushing dominance
In her on-court comments after her victory, Sabalenka was overwhelmed by the magnitude of her achievement, adding that it had been ‘an amazing two weeks’.
“I’m really speechless,” Sabalenka added before thanking the audience.
‘To the public: thank you very much for your support during these two weeks. I really enjoy playing for you and that makes this place special.
“I love you so much and I can’t wait to come back.”