Sabalenka heads to the Maldives for sun, tequila and reflection

Aryna Sabalenka put in a hell of a season.

Now she's ready for a much-needed, and much-deserved, break.

Is she off to Greece, where she usually jets to for rest and relaxation? Not this time. The World No. 1 revealed that she's beginning her offseason in the Maldives.

"Can we do it quick? I want to go to the Maldives," Sabalenka said with a smile after losing the WTA Finals title match to Elena Rybakina on Saturday.

Despite the disappointing defeat, the four-time Grand Slam champion seemed in good spirits after the match.

"After a little time I feel actually great," she said "Yeah, I lost this match, she played incredible. I feel like I did my best today. Didn't work, but I think [there are] so many things I have to be proud of. I'm leaving this tournament without any disappointment. I leave this tournament being proud of myself, and things that we've been able to achieve with my team."

There's certainly no shortage of things for Sabalenka to feel proud about. She may have fallen just short in Riyadh, but she ends the season ranked No. 1 after going to wire to wire in the top spot of the PIF WTA Rankings. She added another Grand Slam to her total, finished with the most wins on the Hologic WTA Tour (63), set the single-season record for prize money in women's tennis (a shade over $15 million) and racked up 10,870 points, nearly 2,500 more than second-ranked Iga Swiatek.

Now it's off to the Maldives to rest, relax and ponder ahead of 2026, where she'll unquestionably add to what is already a legendary resume.

“Sometimes players are better on the day than you,” Sabalenka said. “And how to recover after such a tough loss? I mean, the good thing is that I’m always there. The bad thing this season, I lost most of the biggest finals I made. So I guess I’ll just sit back in Maldives, having my probably tequila, and think back and try to analyze my behavior, my emotions. [I] think that actually it’s been pretty good so far.

"I just need to get [a] little bit better with myself a little bit more, and hopefully next season I’ll improve.”

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