Aryna Sabalenka clearly isn’t one to spend hours studying the form of her female opponents before matches. In fact, ahead of her opening match at the Madrid Open, the two-time Grand Slam champion has candidly admitted she prefers to watch men’s tennis as opposed to following her rivals.

The world No.2 will be in action in the Spanish capital on Thursday. The tournament forms part of the build-up to the French Open for the Belarusian star, as she bids to go one better than her semi-final appearance at Roland Garros last year.

She’ll face either Elisabetta Cocciaretto or Magda Linette first-up, before a potential clash with the in-form Danielle Collins. The American is fresh off the back of wins in at the Miami and Charleston Open, and would present a tough test for Sabalenka.

The 25-year-old would seemingly have not spent much time watching her double success though. In a press conference ahead of the clay-court event in Madrid, she revealed that she only watches female tennis when team members insist.

“I don’t watch their matches (her rivals),” she conceded. “I feel like I’ve played against them enough and that, if I face one of them again, my coach is going to show me images of their matches to analyse and prepare me.

“I’m not someone who watches too much tennis, I prefer to watch men’s tennis rather than women’s tennis, I feel like there is more strategy and it’s more interesting to watch.”

Sabalenka was chuckling as she spoke, but her comments will be perceived as a blow to the women’s game given her standing within the sport. Her second triumph at the Australian Open came earlier this year, when she sensationally defended her title without losing a single set.

That followed a 2023 campaign where she became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semi-finals or better at all four majors in a season. Her maiden win at Melbourne Park was followed by runs to the final-four in both France and at Wimbledon, before making the final of the US Open.

There, she was beaten in three sets by American player Coco Gauff. The defeat ultimately cost her from finishing the year as the world No,1 relinquishing her place back to Polish player Iga Swiatek.