Aryna Sabalenka has opened up about the fear that drove her to her second Australian Open title before posing with the trophy in a stunning white dress in Melbourne on Sunday.
The 25-year-old kissed the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup once again and shared a heartwarming moment with a ballkid during the traditional photo shoot at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, just a short walk from the city centre.
Sabalenka also lifted the lid on how she and her team celebrated the win over Zheng Qinwen.
'I have, I would say, the craziest team,' she said.
'We all had a little drink, some of them not a little drink, but a lot. You can check their voices and look at them and see who drink the most.
'I had a little drink, of course, and a little sweet, and we have been dancing and having fun - and that's how we celebrate.'
After her straight-sets triumph she recalled the dark times of worrying a grand slam title might forever elude her after becoming the first player to defend the Australian Open women's crown in more than a decade.
Sabalenka placed her rivals on notice that many more may be coming after she overcame her fear she'd be tagged as a one-major wonder with a ruthless and relieving victory over the Chinese underdog.
Sabalenka kissed the trophy once again as she posed for the victor's traditional photo shoot at Melbourne's Carlton Gardens on Sunday
The 25-year-old cut a striking figure as she posed with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for a second straight year
The Belarusian star shared a heartwarming moment with one of the Australian Open ballkids
The world No.2 overwhelmed Zheng 6-3 6-2 on Saturday night to follow fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka's Melbourne Park double act in 2012 and 2013.
Underlining her dominance, Sabalenka joined greats Ash Barty (2022), Serena Williams (2017), Maria Sharapova (2008) and Lindsay Davenport (2000) as only the fifth woman this century to hoist the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup without dropping a set.
'It's been an amazing couple of weeks and I couldn't imagine myself lifting this trophy one more time,' Sabalenka said.
'It's an unbelievable feeling right now. I'm really speechless.'
On a mission after losing last year's US Open final from a set up against Coco Gauff, Sabalenka produced 76 minutes of focus and ferocity to exorcise the mental demons that haunted her during the temperamental talent's well-documented grapples with the serving yips.
'There was really a moment where I really didn't believe that I'm going to win a slam one day, especially those periods when I was serving double faults and couldn't fix my serve,' she said.
One more tournament victory will see Sabalenka become the world No.1 once again
Last year the queen of the Australian Open went with a pink dress as she posed with her trophy on the shores of the Yarra River
'There was a lot of up and downs.
'But I just couldn't quit. I felt like I just have to keep doing what I'm doing. I just have to keep fighting for my dream and make sure that if there is something I want to believe and there is something that my father is watching me and very proud of me.
'So I just couldn't stop for my family.'
Sabalenka's former ice hockey-playing father Sergey died in 2019 after introducing his then-six-year-old daughter to tennis almost by accident after driving past some courts one day.
'He's my biggest motivation. He's been everything for me,' she said after surging to within one tournament victory of supplanting Poland's Iga Swiatek from the top ranking.
A one-time emotional wreck, Sabalenka also thanked her team and said she could never have won a grand slam without their unwavering support.
'It's been in my mind that I didn't want to be that player who won it and then disappeared,' Sabalenka said of capturing a second major.
'I just wanted to show that I'm able to be consistently there and I'm able to win another one.
'I really hope for more than two right now.'
Believing in destiny, Zheng had been hoping the stars would align and that she would become China's second grand slam singles champion, a neat decade after her idol and inspiration Li Na won the Australian Open in 2014.
But the second-ranked Sabalenka ended the 21-year-old's fairytale in clinical fashion.
Sabalenka is pictured with her father Sergey, who died unexpectedly aged just 43 in 2019. She blew him a kiss after winning her second grand slam on Saturday night
The 6-3, 6-2 win over Zheng Qinwen means Sabalenka didn't drop a single set on her way to an emotional Open win (pictured)
'I'm feeling a little bit pity but this has been an amazing experience for me,' Zheng said.
'It is my first grand slam final. I feel that I could do it better, but I didn't in this match.
'I'm sure there's going to be more and better in the future.'
Zheng's consolation is a rise from 15th in the rankings to world No.7 and a career pay day of $1.725 million.
CAREER SNAPSHOT OF 2024 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION ARYNA SABALENKA
Age: 25
Born: Minsk, Belarus
Height: 182cm
Ranking: 2
Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $34.35 million
Career titles: 14
Career win-loss record: 371-175
Grand slam titles: 2 (Australian Open 2023, 2024)
Grand slam win-loss record: 66-22
Australian Open win-loss record: 22-5
Best Australian Open results: champion 2023, 2024
Coach: Anton Dubrov
Road to title:
1st rd: bt Ella Seidel (GER) 6-0 6-1
2nd rd: bt Brenda Fruhvirtova (CZE) 6-3 6-2
3rd rd: bt 28-Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 6-0 6-0
4th rd: bt Amanda Anisimova (USA) 6-3 6-2
QF: bt 9-Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 6-2 6-3
SF: bt 4-Coco Gauff (USA) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4
F: bt 12-Zheng Qinwen (CHN) 6-3 6-2
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