You can't always win, the Tiger knows it

Grilli

She is the world number one. Her nickname 'Tiger' well sums up her ferocious attitude on the field. And yet Aryna Sabalenka, formidable Belarusian tennis player 26 years old, has an innate and rare ability that greatly enhances her status as a champion. The ability to lose without making a fuss, without breaking rackets, without blaming the whole world because the opponent dared to beat her. A Stuttgart, after the final which saw her give in to the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, fourth in the world ranking, the applause of the public was mainly directed at her. Because she immediately knew how to counter with irony the strong disappointment of the moment: for the fourth time, in fact, Aryna had seen the title vanish only in the last act. At stake, for the winner of the tournament, there was a Porsche. And the Belarusian was aiming to take it home, without false modesty, as she also declared before the match. Then, the match ended up denying her the roaring prize. And here's the classy move: "Congratulations to Jelena and her team - she said -. Now you can enjoy this magnificent car. I'm happy to be able to afford this model. After this final, I will order one, because it's the only solution for me".

Sabalenka, just a few months ago, had also declared that she was looking forward to a future without worrying about tennis: "I would like to have a family," she said, "have a child and then come back. I don't want to wait until I'm 35."