Aryna Sabalenka’s coach left with ‘stitches’ after training session gone wrong | Tennis | Sport

Aryna Sabalenka is through to her fourth straight quarter-final at the Australian Open as she continues her quest for a third title here. The world No. 1 survived a second-set wobble to beat teenage sensation Victoria Mboko 6-1 7-6(1) – but all eyes were on her performance coach, Jason Stacy.

Sabalenka and Stacy have some fun pre-match rituals. In the past, the Belarusian has signed her coach’s bald head to give her good luck during a tournament. He’s also worn a temporary tiger tattoo on his head.

As Sabalenka took to Rod Laver Arena for her fourth-round match on Sunday, with her team sitting in the courtside box, Stacy had a couple of other noticeable features on his face. The American had what appeared to be stitches under one eye, and under the other eye, Sabalenka had written: “I like pain.”

The four-time Grand Slam champion later revealed that the stitches were a result of an incident in the gym a few days ago – and the phrase she wrote on Stacy’s face referenced that. “That was message to both,” she laughed.

“I like the pain on court. He likes the pain off court. I mean, that’s just us. That’s our team. We always have fun. I need to make it clear to people that he likes it, so it’s okay. That was fun stuff. But he’s healing really quick. He likes the pain as they write it down there. So all good.”

The No. 1 seed in Melbourne also opened up on the incident that left her coach needing stitches. “We were having fun with the stick in the gym that a little bit flexible,” she explained.

“I was trying to put it away from him. He put his feet on the bottom part of the stick. I just let it go. It was a perfect target. I’m glad it wasn’t his eye. If it would be his eye, we would be in trouble. We definitely not messing around that stick anymore.”

Sabalenka won’t have time to mess around, as she faces another new opponent in the next round. After beating 19-year-old Canadian Open champion Mboko in the fourth round, Sabalenka takes on another rising teenage star in the quarter-finals, Iva Jovic.

The American only turned 18 last month, and she’s enjoying one of the best weeks of her career. Jovic earned a maiden top-10 win over Jasmine Paolini in the third round to reach the second week of a Major for the first time. The No. 29 seed then needed 53 minutes to beat Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 on Sunday.