Despite Aryna Sabalenka's 7-tournament losing stretch, former British tennis star Tim Henman knew that quality speaks louder than temporary bad form.

“I think a player of her stature, when she gets to the Grand Slams and the biggest and best events, you find that there's an extra gear to her game," Henman said as he picked the Belarusian US Open champion, per the Sky Sports Tennis panel. "You go back to that old saying: Form is temporary, class is permanent.”

The 28-year-old WTA No. 1 opened 2026 as Brisbane champion and swept Miami and Indian Wells for a Sunshine Double. But her long losing streak since April's Madrid Open persisted through mid-August’s Cincinnati Open.

However, this is about the player who has won the US Open twice, has 2 Australian Open titles and 4 Grand Slams under her belt.

Henman agreed that "She hasn't been playing particularly well." But for players of her caliber, there's always room to give more, and "an extra intensity to (their) focus and concentration.”

And the Belarusian's own statements highlighted how on-point Henman is.

Aryna Sabalenka is set to come back stronger

The competitive fuel shouldn’t run out just after completing a rare sunshine double. Although the court hasn’t been her best companion lately, Sabalenka is ready to return even stronger to defend her 2 consecutive (2024, 2025) US Open titles this year.

“Throw tough challenges at me; I will come back only stronger,” she told reporters in New York ahead of the competition, per Ubitennis.com’s Tony Fairbairn. “It wasn’t the best period. I don’t want to defend myself… These tough lessons are definitely going to make me way, way stronger…”

“I work on my mental side of the game,” she added to the same segment. “I was trying to reset my mind and to come back stronger … It’s only a matter of time for me to come back.”

Marking August 30 as the Women’s singles main draw, the tournament will stretch through September 12. It’ll be intriguing to watch how Sabalenka turns her words into reality.

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Written by

Deblina Roy