On Purpose with Jay Shetty - US OPEN CHAMPION Aryna Sabalenka EXCLUSIVE: Transforming Doubt, Pressure & Loss into HUGE Success

Episode Date: September 10, 2025

How do you usually handle self-doubt? How do you find your confidence again? Today, Jay welcomes two-time U.S. Open Champion Aryna Sabalenka just days after her incredible victory. Aryna opens up about what it truly feels like to lift the trophy again, not only as a moment of triumph, but as a deep release after seasons of heartbreak and near misses. She reflects on the sting of falling short in Grand Slam finals and the heavy weight of being labeled the favorite, sharing how those setbacks forced her to grow into a calmer, more emotionally balanced competitor. Aryna’s honesty about pain, pressure, and resilience gives a rare glimpse into the mindset of a true champion. The conversation dives deep into the mental battles that shape elite performances. Aryna opens up about her relationship with nerves, the self-talk that carries her through the grind of a Grand Slam, and the inner dialogue she’s learned to trust. Rather than resisting fear or doubt, she has learned to accept them, turning vulnerability into strength. Aryna also highlights the critical role of gratitude, choosing to see the pressure of competition as a privilege rather than a burden. Through stories of her father’s encouragement and his lasting influence, Aryna illustrates how her drive is not only for personal success, but also to honor his legacy. In this interview, you'll learn: How to Use Self-Talk to Stay Focused How to Celebrate Your Wins Without Guilt How to Balance Pressure With Gratitude How to Keep Showing Up When It’s Hard How to Surround Yourself With the Right People How to Build Confidence Step by Step Success isn’t only about reaching the finish line, it’s about the discipline of showing up, the courage to keep going when it’s difficult, and the willingness to celebrate even the small wins along the way. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 00:56 How Does It Feel To Win… Again? 01:46 Toughest Moments Up to This Point 02:31 Lessons Learned From Defeat 05:19 Preparing for the Pressure 07:21 Inside the Mind of a Champion 10:47 What is The Hardest Part of Being at the Top? 12:26 The Importance of Celebration 16:51 How Did You Find Tennis?  18:52 What Inspires You? 21:55 A Champion’s Morning Routine 25:59 Balancing Work and Personal Life 26:58 Fighting for Equality in Sports 29:13 The Role of Fashion in Confidence 30:54 Turning Grief Into Strength 36:01 How Do You Define Love? 37:15 Why Discipline Defines Success 39:55 Have You Ever Wanted to Give Up? 41:13 The Purpose of Hard Challenges 43:03 Unique Rituals and Habits 45:09 Who is Your Toughest Opponent? 47:05 The Power of Having the Right People by Your Side 53:02 Favorite Sports Beyond Tennis 54:09 Mastering Your Time  56:07 The Value of Rest and Recovery 58:06 Battle of the Sexes 01:00:26 Aryna on Final Five Episode Resources: Aryna Sabalenka | YouTube Aryna Sabalenka | Instagram Aryna Sabalenka | Facebook Aryna Sabalenka | TikTokSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And that is why every single woman needs to be good with money. Listen to a really good cry on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness. I'm Danny Shapiro. And these are just a few of the powerful stories I'll be mining on our upcoming 12th season of Family Secrets. We continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the U versus You podcast. I'm Lex Barrero, inviting you to go beyond the titles and the accolades of the world's most successful entertainers. Each week, we take off the cape and get real about the inner battles, childhood stories, and the moments that shaped our guests.

Get inspired to become the best version of you. Listen to U versus You podcast on the IHeart Radio. app or wherever you get your podcast. There have been heartbreaking losses for Sabalanga this year. From all of the emotions, chief value is composed, richly deserved win. Arena Sabalanga, it's a grand slam title and a network of U.S. control. The number one health and wellness podcast.

Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. He won. The only. Jay Shetty. Congratulations. I am so excited to have you here. I've been looking forward to this for such a long time.

I got to be at the game on Saturday. You were absolutely incredible. I can't believe we have you here. 48 hours after you just won this incredible trophy, the U.S. Open. Women's Final was unbelievable. Congrats. And thank you for doing this. Thank you for having me.

I think I'm more excited than you. I've been watching your podcast and following you for, I don't know, for how long. So I'm probably more excited than you. That feels really good to me, the fact that you watch it. It means the world to me. But honestly, I've been really excited. I'm watching you live. There was nothing like it.

The attitude, the personality, the amazing sportsmanship, like just incredible play. It was fantastic to watch, truly. Yeah, it was a great match. And I'm really, really happy that you enjoy it. watching it and, yeah, you had fun. How does it feel when you're winning Grand Slam after Grand Slam? This is the second time you've won the U.S. Open in a row. Does it feel different from the first time?

Does it feel the same? Like, what goes through your mind and heart? Like, every time you win the Grand Slam, every time is an incredible feeling. And every time it's just, you feel like the biggest thing that happened to you. And I feel like it all depends on the situation in life and stuff because this is a struggle a lot. So I feel like this time it feels like it happened for the first time, you know? Like it's like my first grand slam.

So it's a big moment and I feel like relieved after getting this beauty. Absolutely. Thank you for bringing it here. This is amazing. Of course what I mean. This is the first trophy ever on On Purpose. So this is a special moment for us. Happy to be the first one.

What were you struggling with this year? Like when you say like I was struggling this year, that's why it feels like a relief. what were you struggling with like what were you going to yeah i mean i played early in the season i played two grand slam finals in australia and um in paris and i lost those two finals and i like they consider me favorite so i kind of like you know i thought that i felt like okay it's coming my way i was so excited but then i would lose in the final and i was sort of like really sad and like it was really tough to go through those tough lessons stuff losses and and and getting this trophy means a lot. It means that I learned a lesson and became a better player. I have better

control over my emotions and I'm super happy that I was able to win this trophy. Obviously, you've just won and we'll talk about that. I want to know what do you do when you lose because losing is so much harder. It hurts. It's so much more painful. It hurts so deeply. What do you do? Do you analyze the game? Do you feel angry? Like what are the emotions that you go through when you've lost a game, lost a final? A final, you know, I think it's all about like losing in the final, it hurts more because, you know, you're getting so close to your dream and then it's like it feels like it's sort of like slips away, if I can say like that. So you're really depressed and me personally I want to leave the place as soon as possible

just so I like forget it. But then I need like some time to sit back to analyze to like, you know, to actually learn the lesson. So it takes some time to process. the losses. How long before you can watch the game back when you've lost? I have to be honest. I never watched my, like, finals that I lost. I let my team do that and bring me on the plate, okay, you like, you did this, this and this wrong. I know like mentally emotionally what I did wrong and where I made the mistake in like the way I approached the final or what was my mindset. I know this part, but like the tennis part, I let my team figure then they bring it, they tell me, I remember, because I don't want to watch it.

I don't want to see myself there losing. And of course, like the finals that I lost earlier this season, I was like not behaving my best. And I had seen myself being not the kindest person. So I never watch my. Yeah, that's really interesting. I also imagine when you're watching yourself back, it can kind of make you repeat that behavior sometimes as well. Like, it's like if you watch something closely enough, you're almost like you keep pushing the wound.

It's like you keep pressing on that sky if that makes sense. Exactly. You just want to learn it, you know, like make sure that it's never going to happen again and forget it like a nightmare because, yeah, I feel like watching it back. It just triggered that, you know, that pain and something that you wanted to forget badly. So I feel like for me, for my mental health, it's better not to watch it. Yeah. Who's the first person after you win or lose?

that you want to talk to, that you want to hug, that you want to call. I run to my team straight away. I run to my team because I know the work they put it for this win. So I run there and I hugged my boyfriend first, of course, then my team because I know how much of a work they've done to make sure that I'm able to compete on such high level. And then I message my family. Nice. Yeah, let me talk to me about, we were just talking about this offline. You were just saying, you know, this morning you're on the Today Show. You're like, I'm sure you have a million interviews to do today. It's been 48 hours since you've won. But like people forget that these tournaments are played in like these really tight timeframes. Like this was two weeks, right? US Open. Yeah, two weeks. It's really intense. You're playing all these games, multiple sets, really challenging, like the pressure's all compressed into this short timeline. Like, talk to us about the

preparation as a team as an individual for the intensity of the two weeks that the games are being played in. Well, yeah, I mean, we also have tournaments that leads to the Grand Slam. And then you have like a week before the Grand Slam where you come to the place where you're going to compete and you practice training. But also you have a lot of like brands, dinners, like meetings, some interviews as well. So people doesn't know that before the Grand Slam, there is like a week, really busy week, full of meetings, dinners, and this kind of stuff, which is also not easy to handle. And also your training during that period. And then the tournament starts, and there is another pressure which you deal with.

But the preparation is all about, you know, of course, physically there is like tennis, there's gym, there's fitness, all of this stuff. But also mentally, you're preparing yourself. for like really tough two weeks, two weeks of great tennis, hopefully, because you never know, but also two weeks of fighting, like fighting for your dream. And like mentally you have this constant conversation in your head, like you're going to do that, you're capable of it, you're strong enough. So you like really, I feel like if someone would hear like my conversation in my head throughout like this three weeks period, they would think that, okay, this is something

like something wrong with this person because it's constant conversation. Talk to us about that self-talk because I think we forget that right now we're all so obsessed with the conversation online. Like we're looking at what? Twitter is saying, X is saying we're looking at what social media and then you forget that the real conversation is happening inside the champion's head. Exactly. Walk us through what that conversation looks like.

Like what are the ups and downs? What are the shifts in that inner dialogue? Well, I mean, I think it's absolutely normal to feel nervous before big tournaments. And I think that every athlete feel nervous, every athlete adapting his, I don't know, ability. Will he be able to do that again or, like, how he's going to go? Because you never know, like, sport is such a beautiful thing that you go out there. And you don't know how you're going to feel. Will the game works?

Like, will you feel great or better? or what you'll have to deal with because, you know, people look from the outside and that doesn't know, for example, I don't feel myself. Like, I don't, like, I feel uncomfortable doing something on court and I have to, like, deal with that. So before the tournament, I prepare myself that I am ready to handle anything. Like, I'm just talking that it's normal. I'm just trying to kind of, like, settle those, like, thoughts in my head, not by trying to, like, make them go away. because I feel like the moment when you try to make things go away, they actually like growing more.

And it's like more and it's not easy to handle. So I'm just trying to tell myself, it's okay to feel that. It's okay to think that. It's absolutely okay. Everyone thinks that. It's all about you going out there and fighting no matter what. And like constantly having this conversation in your head throughout two weeks, it's tough.

Yeah. It's tough. But I kind of like love it. Yeah. yeah you've learned to enjoy it no i'm just so grateful to have opportunity to experience of that of all of that not everyone have this opportunity in life so i'm just so grateful and a big opportunities is also like big uh big responsibility big pressure but not everyone have that opportunity so you've got to be grateful for that yeah that's beautiful hey you reminded me of

that famous quote that says what you resist persists yeah that idea that if you're trying to get rid of a thought or trying to get rid of a feeling, it just expands and it takes up more space. And as soon as you accept it, you're fine. When you reject it, it just gets bigger, it gets harder. Yeah, rejection, that's not the key. Absolutely. When you accept that, of course it's natural to feel nervous, of course, everyone's feeling

uncomfortable, everyone's feeling stressed out, all of a sudden it kind of calms you. Whereas when you think that, oh, I'm the only one, everyone else looks so calm and confident but I'm stressed out that's why we all get I think there was my like my main mistake when I was just like starting playing tennis I thought that I'm the only one who filled that and I would like focus too much on that so I would forget about like my opponent and I would struggle a lot at the beginning of my career but then the moment when I realized like that everyone experienced that and I start seeing that in my opponent and I was like okay then it's normal then we're both in the same situation. We're both dealing with the same things and it's all about who's going to do

that better. So it's actually like a trick I feel like my intrigue. Like just accept it. Yeah. What's the what's the hardest thing about being a champion about being number one for you? I don't know. I don't know what's hard. I mean, I think there is nothing like when you call someone like champion, when you hear the champion, it's like, how can I actually complain about anything like if you won like a trophy like there is nothing to complain about yeah yeah yeah I loved when you came out after you've won and you had the champagne bottle you had that I was like I was like that sponsor must be really happier in the like I was like that was like the best reaction ever I sure came with the with the tequila because I sponsored by tequila not with

champagne but you know you got to celebrate it you got to enjoy it because you know the heart work is done now it's time to you know celebrate it yeah yeah i was thinking i was thinking about the moment i don't know if you remember that uh tournament where rinaldo hid the coca cola and he put the water up did you ever see that interview so this is a press conference a few years ago and it was christiano rinaldo football game and they'd put coca cola in front of him and he put it away and he said drink water don't drink coca cola and coca cola stock price went down that day like it was crazy so I was like you just took Moe champagne's like stock price must have like gone up and probably we need to check it out.

Yeah, the ski goggles too. I was like, it was amazing. It was so funny. I didn't know that I'm going to look that funny. It looked great. We just came straight from the locker room where they spread like, I don't know how much a bottle of champagne on me. It was a fun moment.

Yeah, I think celebrate. Do you know what? I was so happy to hear you say, I want to celebrate. I want to have fun because I think we forget. And sometimes you need to see the number one person in the world. world say I need to celebrate because I think this applies to everyone wherever you are at your stage in life we don't celebrate any milestones yes and then when you don't see the people at the top celebrate you kind of think oh well what what permission do I have to celebrate so I feel like

you gave everyone permission to say you know what it's okay what you have to exactly you have to celebrate absolutely especially when you in my case like losing the finals losing some tough much as dealing with some struggles, you know, when you finally able to win something big for you, I think it's important to celebrate that moment because you never know when this moment going to happen again. So you have to celebrate. It doesn't matter in which industry in life you are, whatever achievement you achieve, like you have to go and just have a little moment for yourself. Yeah. Do you take a moment to yourself as well to celebrate on your own? Like, what does that look like? What does that personal celebration look like?

I usually celebrate with my team with the people around me because, you know, it's not like it was done only by me, you know. I've done it with the help of people. So I feel like it's, it's not only mine trophy. It's our trophy. But my celebration is like one again in my head. I just tell myself, okay, I'm proud. I'm proud to be able to have this trophy. Yeah. I think it's important to have that inner celebration as well. Yeah. Because I love that you just said that I sit down and go, I'm proud to have this trophy. Like I feel like we're constantly looking for validation outside.

And when you win something like this, of course, the whole world that loves tennis and loves you is validating you, which is a beautiful feeling. Of course. But I love that you said that you actually sit there and say, I'm proud of this trophy for myself. Because I feel like that inner validation is something no one can take away from you and something that stays with you long after. Yeah, because like only I know like what I had to go through. how tough it was and how it all started and you know like this is important to you know appreciate it yeah it's beautiful i want to go back arena because i feel like i was watching a lot of your interviews when i was preparing for this and i know we've been messaging for a while on instagram too

i was thinking about it i was like i actually don't think a lot of people know your journey and know your story that deeply i think people know a little bit here and there but on on purpose that's what we like to do we love to know how people found their purpose became yeah became who they were. And so I wanted to ask you, like, what is a childhood memory that you have or a memory that you can recall that you feel defines who you are today that has impacted the person that you are today? You know, I have so many great memories, but I remember watching my dad being really like funny guy, the guy who would just, you know, make everyone feel happy and smile. And I would, I remember I would just look at him and think, oh my God, I

want to become this kind of person being like just like a positive person like the person who brings like positive vibes everywhere she goes so I think that's why I'm like quite I have this quite funny personality is that where that playfulness comes from uh yeah watching your dad yeah yeah and another story but but this story it's not like I remember that but I think it's perfectly shows my personality when I was a kid and someone came to me because I was granting while hitting the bowl and someone came to me calling me Sharapova and I looked at the person saying like no I'm future Sabalanka I was a kid I was like what nine or or 10 and saying that I was just like when my my mom told me the story I kind of like was proud of myself I love it and and to me it's all

your even when I was watching on Saturday to me it's all your micro expressions like you just have this face that can just like make so many different angles and faces and I'm like just watching you just I was telling you about a moment earlier as well like Amanda played an amazing shot the other day and and you just like turned around you're like clapping it on the side and I was like it was a great shot it was a great show it was amazing it's just it's all these micro things but you're saying your dad inspired all of this like yeah my personality I think 100% comes from my dad yeah and he was also the one who introduced you to tennis yeah yeah yeah walk me through that how did he discover tennis how did he introduce it to

you. It's actually by, not like accident, but he was just like trying to find some activity for me because I was a very active kid and he wanted me to be busy and to do stuff. And he was trying to find a sport for me and he was just like passing by the tennis court. He was like, well, why not just try it? So I tried it and I loved it and that's how it started. That's crazy. Was he good at tennis? No, no, no. He used to play ice hockey, but then he had bike crush. So he was afraid to come back in sport. Oh, wow. So, yeah. Was it quite a bad injury that you? It was a very bad injury. He barely survived when he was 18 or 19. So, and since then, he didn't want to come back to sport because he was afraid that it was, it will affect his health. Did he do anything

to help you feel confident about tennis or what was that relationship like? Because I heard in another interview, you said, you said it was quite funny that you didn't actually think you got good at tennis until you were like 16, 17 years old. Yeah. And so that's a long time. If you started playing tennis quite early and you only felt really good at 1617. What was happening between that age when you started playing in 16. No, but I was pretty good. I was winning these local tournaments all the time. I was pretty good. And my dad would always just say, just as long as you just go out there and you fight and you give your best, you're good. He didn't care like if I win or lose. So he was like a really great supporter. But I realized at 1617 that I can be maybe good like internationally, you know, like going

And going for those, back then it was like 10,000 events, like a woman sport, you know, like WTA. It started like, actually, I think it was like ITF or something like because I started from like 10,000, 25, 50, 100. So like slowly made my way to WTA tennis. So yeah, back then I thought like maybe, maybe I can be good when you compare yourself to like other athletes. So that's why I probably am. Who did you grow up watching? Who are the people that you admired? Because you already said, you're like, no, I'm going to be future Savalanka.

You know, it's so funny because I think back then it wasn't that much of social media. So I didn't have like an iPhone, you know, to go to Instagram and watch other athletes. And I was just like I was training the whole, I was going to school. I was training. And then I was just like having fun with my friends outside. So I was never like watching TV or any internet much. So I didn't really look up. to someone, you know? Like, of course, I've seen, like, Serena dominating, like, there and there.

So, and I was, like, thinking, like, I wish I could become, like, her one day, you know? So, but no, I wasn't, like, really looking up to someone. And, like, this question, question makes me feel really terrible as a person. Like, I feel like, everyone have their, like, idol, someone they look up to, and I never have someone. But I think the answer is just, like, because we didn't have that social media. We didn't have, like, something that you just grew up and you look and okay and you see this life no i mean i i didn't i didn't want to make you feel bad by asking it i was no no you didn't make me bad i'm just saying i don't no and i i almost think there's something beautiful about it because i think sometimes sometimes watching people can

inspire us but sometimes not having that can actually help you find yourself yeah like not having even i mean when i was growing up i'm 10 years older than you but when i was growing up i was reading books about people because I couldn't follow them on social media either. So I read David Beckham's autobiography when I was like 16, 17 years old. And then I read Steve Jobs's biography much later. And so I was reading about people that I was fascinated by at a young age, but I didn't get to watch clips of them or whatever else it may be. And I think there's something beautiful about that because then you get to define who you are. And sometimes you can get caught comparing yourself to people. I think social media has made it so hard for young athletes or young

anyone you're looking at everyone going I wish I was more like that I wish I looked like that I wish I had that game you know and so it's kind of nice to not have that actually sometimes because you're free it's it's a good and a bad thing at the same time right like you you see more stuff you learn more but at the same time you can compare yourself to people and and then feel bad about yourself for some reason so it's like it can bring like really strong insecurities in you so I don't know I think it's important to find something that you love you truly love not like because you see like social media posts and you think, oh, I want to live that life, but do you really?

You know, you have to find something that you love. And I think if you do what you love and you passion and you dedicate your life to that and you do everything you can to become successful in any area, I think that's the way to go, you know? Well said, yeah, absolutely. I feel like it's so, because winning the trophy is 1% of your life. The other 99% is what we're.

we don't see. We're just seeing the two weeks of the tournaments or whatever it may be. But it's the whole life, you know. It's the waking up. It's the, to walk me through your morning routine, like, what does your routine look like? How do you set yourself up? During the tournament? Do me a game day and a non-game day? Well, the game day depends on the match once again, but I like to sleep in. I need to have a good recovery. But then I take it easy if it's like an evening match. I take it easy. I do like some mobility in the gym, like to wake me up. I mean, of course, breakfast before, lunch, then I go on site, I do my warm-up again, I do tennis hit. And then there's a match game.

And when it's not much day, then it's like even longer sleep, later wake up, and easy start, a little bit of a heat, and then it's a treatment, recovery process, and then it's dinner. I love to go out for dinners. Nice. Did I read somewhere that you meditate as well or have tried before? Do you practice any sort of meditation or work with a sports psychologist as well? I worked with the sports psychologist for four or five years. We did some sort of meditation.

We did a lot of things at the beginning of my career. But then, you know, what I found, that I was relying on her so much. She was a woman. I was relying on her so much. So I was expecting her to fix my problems, like my. emotions so and I and I was like repeating the same mistake over and over again and I was like getting upset about that so at some point I decided okay I have to take responsibility over my actions and I stopped working with psychologists and that was the moment when I started like

learning about myself when I actually understood myself better and I start I start to control my emotions much better and I felt like more balanced when I like took that responsibility yeah so it was I think for me personally it was a great move but you never know like maybe one day I'm going to come back to get back to psychology meditation and all of that stuff I think that's the right process though with anything I feel like it's learn learn and then you have to go lead yourself and it's learn and then lead yourself and I think the challenges if you constantly remain a student then you're always dependent. And I think anything we become dependent on controls us and then we're subject to how good we feel that day. But when you learn something and then you go and try it and you

practice it and you apply it, then you get to see whether you actually internalized it. And so I think that is a good process. I feel like for anyone who's practicing any sort of coaching, therapy, psychology, it's great to be able to learn and then go test all the stuff in the real world and then see where it goes back rather than keep it there forever because then you're almost someone's holding your hand the whole time and then you keep holding tire and tire and tire. Yeah, it's good to like, you know, go back and forth, like work with psychologists, but then go out there and try to figure it by yourself and then the moment you feel like you need to talk to someone and you need to find some, yeah, some answers. So yeah, it's always a learning

process, right? Like as long as it's good for you, it's great. I'm Radi Dvlukaya and I'm the host of a really good cry podcast and I have the opportunity to talk to Logan Yuri. Logan is a dating expert, a behavioral scientist, a bestselling author and someone who is seriously changing the way we think about love and dating. In our conversation, we talk all things dating, that Logan has studied and tested from what to put in your dating profile, the pictures you should and shouldn't be using to the conversation starters that actually work. And the huge no-noes that people probably do not realize are reducing their chances of success on apps. Whether you're single, dating, or just trying to be more intentional in love, Logan offers

the kind of clarity we all need. Relationships do require work and the best relationships are people who really work on them together. They're so focused on, if I find the perfect person, then I'll have the perfect relationship instead of understanding really that they can choose someone great and then build that relationship together. They don't need to keep searching for perfection. Listen to a really good cry on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to the U versus you podcast. I'm Lex Barrero. And every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made them who they are. We go deep, exploring childhood trauma, family, overcoming

loss, and the moments that shape their journey. These honest conversations, are meant to take the cape off our heroes, with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek. I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to be, like, go harder.

But sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden. Is it wrong to want more? We migrated. Our family migrated here. I'm like second generation. Who will have a trauma coming from a country, exanjerio, and you get to States,

Listen to You versus You as part of Michael Tutta Podcast Network, available on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness the way it has echoed and reverberated throughout your life, impacting your very legacy.

Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro. These are just a few of the profound and powerful stories I'll be mining on our 12th season of Family Secrets. With over 37 million downloads, we continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. I can't wait to share 10 powerful new episodes with you, stories of tangled up identities, concealed truths, and the way in which family secrets almost always need to be told. I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary guests for this new season of Family Secrets. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How would the people that know you, beyond tennis, personally, deeply, intimately, how would they describe you?

What would they say about you? Oh, I don't like to talk about myself, but I feel like they would, they would say that I'm very kind, funny, of course, and very generous. And I think, I mean, yeah, I think that's how they would describe me. I mean, that's what I hope they're going to describe it. Maybe they're going to just say, okay, you know what, she's crazy. Like, you better just stay away. Who knows, but that's my hopes. Yeah, funny, kind and generous is a good, it's a good three.

I like this. Just how I see myself, but reality is different. We'll check afterwards. Yeah, let's just ask a few people. I have to ask a few people. How much does your life off the core in your personal life impact your life on the core? Well, I think anyway, everything is, you know, kind of like works together. So, but I think it's all about like balancing your off the court and on the court life.

Because I feel like on the court, I'm like really aggressive. I'm so focused. I'm like I'm just chasing my dreams so I feel like people who doesn't know me they can they can say that I'm super crazy person and super aggressive on and of the court but it's not who I am I feel like off the court I'm I'm more fun and I love to have fun and you know you have to balance you have to like put the hard work in but also you have to go and and enjoy and do things that brings you bring you joy because then when you feel balanced and feel like you enjoy join your life, then you're able to go there and to bring everything you have and to fight

and to be focused. Yeah, I feel tennis has done so much, hopefully to start leveling the playing field with men and women. Have you ever felt that divide personally while playing? Like, do you feel the pressure that everyone in the media puts on the sports of like, you know, men and women are not equal? There's this challenge. Like, have you felt that or do you feel that doesn't really cross your mind? How do you process? is that? I'm trying not to focus on that because I just try to represent women's sport the best way possible. And of course, we're all fighting for equal price money and everything. But also at the end of the day, it's all about who brings the show, who brings people into the sport.

But I think like now the prize money is equal. Everything is getting closer and closer between man and woman. So, of course, I love it, and that's what women athletes are fighting for. Thank you, Billy Jenkins, for, you know, fighting for us. I agree that we deserve to be paid the same. Of course, like, the level is different just because of the physical abilities. But the work that we putting is equal to the work that they putting. Of course, the level can be different, but it's just, it's life.

That's men meant to be as stronger than women. So yeah, but it's interesting to hear that you don't think about it because I think that's because I guess you've just got to focus on playing the game. Yeah, you cannot, you know, focus on many things. You just got to focus on yourself and bring the best of you. And of course, try to fight for having like equal price money to be like closer to what men's are earning and that stuff. I think like actually lately, like women's tennis, especially tennis, women tennis is more fun to watch, like more people coming, like attending, people speak more about that. Maybe it's like fashion related because it's such a fashionable sport right now.

But I feel like we are getting really close to men. Yeah, yeah. I think it's been brilliant. I think the sport's done a great job at trying to move in the right direction for a long time. Billy Jean King, as you said, has been such a reason for that. It's been amazing. So it's incredible. Talk to us about the fashion because you're, as soon as you put your, like, outfit on that

then, you put the silver jacket on and like, I was like, Arina's like going for it. Like, how much, how much fun do you get to have with all of that? I love it. You know, I love fashion. I love, you know, I love experimenting with my looks and stuff. And for me, it's important, you know, to look good on court, to feel good about myself. So I love that. I think it's all about, you know, having fun with it and bring.

in fashion to tennis. I think it's also going to help to explore our sport more. So I'm enjoying this. Yeah, yeah. You see it in sports, like, I feel like basketball, especially in America. Like, all the basketball players are very fashionable. Like, it kind of creates, it brings sports and culture together quite a lot. How do you find your inspiration for your looks?

Like, is it just something you like the look of? Like, how do you kind of go about picking colors, silhouettes, everything else? Well, I started to work with the Carla Velge, the style. at least she's the best and she teach me a lot about, you know, how to mix stuff together, which color works better for me. So she teach me a lot and I follow a lot of like fashion influencers just to like see how they dressed up and sometimes I find the inspiration. I order a lot of stuff and, you know, I'm like, I cannot stop shopping.

That's my, that's my weakness. Is it? Yes. Yeah, there was a clip that I saw where it's like as soon as after the game, the first thing that went on was the AP. It went on straight after the game. You know, got to take care of the fashion stuff of the game. Fashion part of the game.

I love it. Will you crush you get? You're a crush again. One of the things that I love talking to about with successful people, champions, who have been through it, is like defining moments in their life. You know, I feel like defining moments in every human's life are just either propels you forward or it can, you know, slow you down or break you down.

And for you, I feel like one of the biggest ones was losing your father. Like that is, for anyone losing a parent is such a huge part of their journey. For you, it's critical to your journey because it's the person who gave you what you love. Walk us through that moment in time. Well, I hope I'm not going to start crying right now, but it was, it was unexpected. It just happened like this. And it was a tough moment because I was, so close to him, the reason is because we have similar personalities and we understood each other

much better. He knew what to tell me when I was like struggling on court, you know? I would just call him and he would just say a couple of things and I would be like, oh, that makes sense. So losing him was a tough moment. But, you know, instead of like really going deposition. I just decided to take it as, you know, like, he's like here with me. He's in my heart, in my memory. He raised me. I feel like the best way possible. Thanks to him for, you know, like I feel like I'm the champion right now because of him.

And I know that he's here with me. He, you know, he support me. He takes care of me. He protects me. And, yeah, I took it as a motivation to put the family name in the history. and thanks to him. Yeah. How did you grieve at the time?

Like what was useful to you because I feel losing someone's always hard and there's no perfect way to grieve, but what worked for you? What did you have to do in order to process that? Well, I had to stay really strong because, yeah, my mom was, it was tough for her to handle.

She was a young woman to lose her husband that she loved. It was tough. So I had to stay really strong and not really strong my emotions, but I was crying a lot back then. when no one saw me. But the best way for me was to go on court and practice and train.

It was the only time when I wouldn't think. You know, like the beginning of the practice, till the end, I was just focusing on, like, tennis, like, hitting those, like, balls, repetition after repetition. And then the moment the practice would stop, I would, like, constantly thinking, like, remembering, like, something from the past, start crying harder.

That was the best way for me to go through it. It's like go out and practice and practice and practice. Yeah, I feel like you just break down straight after because, I mean, I'm surprised you could even focus during the practice. That's impressive because there was, yeah, I don't know how actually. I just figured that I went on court, start practicing. I realized that, okay, this is the moment when I'm not thinking about that. And I was, I was training a lot.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were trying to, like, channel it all into. Yeah, like, just let it, like, go, let it go because. It's nothing you can do about. You know, I feel like in life there is like birth, love, and that's something that you have zero control on. So I was like, there was his journey. I was grateful that I was able to spend 21 years with him.

And yeah, I know that he's protecting me. That's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. It's so beautiful to hear about my wife recently lost her grandmother and I always say to people that my wife's, I don't even come close. My wife's favorite person in the world is her grandmother. And her grandma was 91, she lived an amazing life. But losing someone that close to you, that's raised you, that you have all these memories

with, it's never easy. And, you know, my wife was by her bedside for four months every day before she passed away, like sleeping in hospital and together with her. And just, you know, it was beautiful for me to watch, just that love that dayshed. That connection. Yeah, that connection. and that level of love and that level of, and I love what you just said now

about how birth, love and death are the only things that are guaranteed and it's, how do you think about love? Like, what's your views on love? I'm intrigued, seeing as you brought up those three important things. I think love is something that you cannot really explain, right? You just feel complete with the person, right?

You just feel comfortable. you're not dupting anything you're having fun you love everything about the person good and because everyone have good and bad parts right so you love everything and i think that's something that gives you that feeling that i don't know that like that warm in your heart yeah it's a feeling how would you describe you know right like how can yeah love to me is when someone accepts you for who you are and you accept them for who they are and not changing you're right trying to change them exactly i feel like the biggest mistake is when you either want someone to never change or you want someone to change today because chances are if you spend

long enough with someone they will change and you will change and if i want to change you that means i never really loved you in the first place and so when i'm willing to accept yeah when i'm willing to accept and be with you and sit with you and understand you. I'm trying to be more curious than I am judgmental because I'm trying to understand why you are the way you are and I love that what made you this way and I totally agree. Yeah, because it's because I feel like it's it's so easy in any relationship. This isn't just romantic. I think it applies to parents, family, sisters, siblings, brothers, everyone. It's like you don't know why someone is the way they are. You don't know what they've been through, right? What made them, they, they were.

way they are and when you understand understand that about like you said family friends just people right makes you yeah just feel the person yeah when did you start to feel successful and feel like you were a champion did you ever do you feel that way or is there i don't know i never i never think about that i think for me success is the the discipline that you put in I think this is success, like being able to be there every morning, every practice, doesn't matter how you feel, doesn't matter if you want it, or you don't want to be there, because there is days when you just don't want to go and work or practice and do your job, right? And if you're still there, this is success.

This means that you love what you do and you want to be successful. That's a great definition of success. I love that. That's such a great answer. success is actually showing up, even when you don't want to, when you don't feel like it. That's really what it is. I think that's why I'm able to, you know, hold this trophies because I was there, like, no matter what, since, like, a very young age, you know, I remember going to practice,

not feeling well, but I don't know, something was just driving me. Like, I was just going there. I loved it. And that's why I say that people have to find something they love, because when you love something like what you do that's what pushes you like to go to do to to do better every day like and to improve to that's important i love what you're saying and i'm thinking about some of the things i think my audience struggles with sometimes let's say you find some people struggle to find something they love do you think that's because we have the wrong view of it like i think some

people think if you love something you'll always like it but what you're saying is you can love something and there'll still be days where you don't like it, which I think is a really important point. Yeah. Does that make sense? Like I feel like so many people give up on things because they feel like, okay, I don't want to go there. It means that, okay, I'm done. And I think this is actually the moment where you can make the like breakthrough, you know, because you, yeah, like you said, you're absolutely right. You can laugh something, but at the same time you can experience those days when you just don't want to do that. And it's normal. It's normal. It's just It's a routine.

So it's important to, if you love something at first and you felt happy. And then like all of the sudden you're like, okay, I don't want to go there. It doesn't mean that you have to change something. You know, you have to change your job. You just have to go through this period. It's like in every relationship. It's not perfect all the time. You have to, you know, go through something.

Did you ever think about giving up? Like was there ever a time in your life where you were like, I think, This is it. Yeah, there was a moment in my career. When was that three years ago? When I was double faulting, I couldn't surf. I don't know what happened with me. Like, I couldn't surf.

Just something happened. And it wouldn't work. And I was still playing. I actually ended up here in top 10 somehow without the surf. But it was like really, I was really close to just quit because I was like, I don't know how to fix it. Like, we tried everything, like psychology. We tried everything, like, like, like going, like through repetitions, like practicing, like different, like everything. We tried everything and we couldn't fix it.

And I was like, okay, I'm about to quit. But then we, yeah, we hired there by my honey guy and he helped to understand some details. And, and, you know, like, so that's what I'm saying, like, it was the moment for me to like, you know, to stay strong to go through it. to never like never give up you know like how we say and i didn't quit and after that i was able to win my first grand slam and that moment was crazy crazy crazy crazy emotional i feel like that's always the case where it's like you love something yeah something about it's not working you're struggling you're not getting it right yeah and that's the point where you're required to be a bit more dedicated like it's like that's where the unlock is yes i feel like uh

universe got you call however you want it send those challenges because you can handle it and for a reason you know like everything happens for a reason and that would actually help me in sport because I was like okay this is happening for a reason I need to change something you know and and I think you have to go through these tough challenges to see to see why why happened to you it's not only about sport in everything in life, you know? Yeah, and I feel like those are the moments that give you confidence and courage. That when you overcome something, which ever, and I think people forget how much they've overcome. Yeah.

Like, I love that you just said, like, I've been just showing up since I was a little kid. Yeah. Like, you know, you've been showing up for so many years. And I think people think confidence is how you show up today or winning a trophy or it's like, no, no, no, like, think about it. And everyone has showed up in their life. Like, the people that are going to work for their kids, for their partner like people have been showing up and if everyone could think of all the times in their life where they had the courage had the confidence to show up even when they didn't want to you're going to feel a lot more of that today rather than waiting to win to feel confident

I think confidence it's it's a process you know you're building this confidence like step by step like by waking up the like the early morning by showing up somewhere you didn't want to, you know, like, and like slowly building your confidence. It's all about like this little, little steps. Do you have any unusual rituals or any, like, things that you do before you got on court or on a day? Like, do you, do you bounce the ball a number of times? Do you throw it a certain way? Is there like a little, little trick or a little thing that you have personally that works for you? Well, I have the same breakfast throughout the tournament. That's my, you know. What is your go-to breakfast? Oh, I love avocado.

toast with two fried eggs from both sides. Over easy, it has to be perfect. I gave so much trouble to some of the places with this eggs. It has to be perfect. It has to be perfect. I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy. And the smoke's on the side.

That's my go-to. That's your go-to breakfast. I love this breakfast. I always come back to this one. Yeah, very specific. Yes. Yeah, it's good. Maybe this.

And then I think about the bouncing the ball. I think it's all about the habit. maybe I actually pick the balls from the ball kits I always pick from like if I win the point and I picked from like it doesn't matter which corner like for example from the right right corner how I show the right

I mean left corner I will keep like picking up the balls from that kid got it I don't know why it just like gives me give me I don't know good feeling Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like we all have these little things. Little things.

But as long as these things in your control, it's good. When you, like, you know, rely on something that it's not in your control, then it can become a problem. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, I mean, I'd be honest, any athlete I've ever interviewed who has continued to be a high performer in their life for a long time has a definite breakfast for their game day. It's like a very common trait, like to have a specific breakfast

Well, you know. Have that continuity. Because I love, like, for me, the main meal is breakfast. I like to sit there, enjoy my breakfast, have my cup of coffee. And, yeah, that's my ritual, you know. Yeah. Who do you, I asked this to Novak recently when he was on the show. I was like, who do you consider your toughest opponent mentally?

Whom did he say? He said himself. Himself? It's a good answer, right? It's a good answer. I'll cut that out. You can say it as well. Well, yeah, myself.

Thanks, Novick. No, I cannot pick one, you know why? Because everyone is tough, you know? Like, it's tough. Like, everyone brings, like, different challenges, you know? And it's tough to, like, say, okay, she's, like, the toughest one for me. Because then you underestimate the rest of the group, which is not right. So all of them brings, like, different challenges.

But I think, Novuk, thank you for that. You're the biggest. Yeah, you're always your biggest mental competitor. Yes. Because you're the one pushing yourself the hardest. Exactly, exactly. It's a good answer. What about your toughest opponent physically?

Coco, ego. Yeah, this too, like I think physically brings the biggest challenge. In what sense? They move really great. So sometimes you build a point and probably with others, like this show will be a winner. But with them, sometimes you have. to like rebuild the point and yeah physically it's not easy physically and mentally it's not easy like to like you know stay stay strong and be ready that the ball going to come back every time

and you have to like be really strong physically to handle that that intensity yeah how does it feel do you have so many young tennis players both men and women coming up to you feeling inspired excited about your journey like how does that feel I think that's the goal in life and I always wanted to be a good example for next generation and when kids run to me and say, I love you, you're my inspiration. That's, you know, that's what actually matters in life. What do you say to young athletes who are inspired by you or moved by you? What's your advice to them? What's your words of wisdom? Surround yourself with the right people. That's the main thing. Because with the right people, you can achieve anything. That's good advice. Did it take you time? Did it take you

time to find the right people to surround yourself with like is that is that hard it's hard it's really hard because there's so many um let's say interesting people around but yeah it took me it took me it took me it took me time i was really happy to have my my coach uh with me for i don't know like how many years already my fitness coach and a tennis coach so they've been there for me and and then find the right agent, the right, I mean, yeah, it took time to build the right people. Yeah, it does. I feel like that's true, again, in business, in sports, in everything, finding the right team is everything. Yeah, you go through being betrayal by someone and, you know, like people come, people go, and it's a process.

But I feel like the moment you found your people, you better stick to that group because this is what gives you. energy and power to keep going. Yeah, I remember I had a physical therapist that I was working with at a time, but we ended up talking while I'd be doing physical therapy too. And it was really interesting. She said to me once, this was years ago, this was like maybe six years ago now. And she said to me, she said, yeah, it's funny. Like, it feels like the only people that stress you out are the people you pay.

And because she was saying when I talk, when I am venting, when I'm saying something, She was saying it was only the people in your professional world. She was like, it seems like your personal life's great. Like my relation with my wife, my relation with my family, my sister, my parents. But she was like, oh, it seems like whenever you're going through something painful, it's always to do something in your life that's part of your business. And it really was like a moment for me because I was like, oh, I've got to think about this as much. Because I think when I first, at least for me, when I first started moving,

I didn't know anyone in the entertainment industry. I didn't know anyone in this world. And so I was just trying to surround myself with people who were smart, who knew what they were doing. But they weren't necessarily on the same energy and vibrancy, if that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Does that make sense? Like, you've had to find people on the same frequency? Yeah, yeah, I think it's important to have people with a good energy, the energy that fits and that you understand each other.

And that seems like your people, you know? Yeah, that's why right now when we said, what do you want to get for food, you were like, no, my team knows me. You know, I trust them. I'm like, that's what I mean. And this year you launched Arena's Arena, right? Yeah. Which I love, which is giving people more access to, you know, your team and the dynamics. Talk to us about that.

Yeah, I want to share myself. I want to share my life. I want life. I want to, you know, show those little kids that, like, we're all people. Like, you know, you don't have to be perfect to be successful, right? And I want to show, like, what it takes to, you know, to be where I am. And that is like, that is real and you just got to work. I'm Radi Dvlukaya and I'm the host of a really good cry podcast

and I have the opportunity to talk to Logan Yuri. Logan is a dating expert, a behavioral scientist, a bestselling author and someone who is seriously changing the way we think about love and dating. In our conversation, we talk all things dating, that Logan has studied and tested. From what to put in your dating profile, the pictures you should and shouldn't be using, to the conversation starters that actually work. And the huge no-noes that people probably do not realize are reducing their chances of success on apps. Whether you're single, dating, or just trying to be more intentional in love,

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And yes, you could throw motherhood and the postpartum thing, learning about myself. There were a lot of like identity crises going on, but I realized like I can't look back and slow down for people. I want to set my own pace and I will sacrifice my comfort to move at the pace that I have worked really hard to move at. Literally everything that could change in your life happened in like five years for me and you know it was a slow burn listen to dear chelsea on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or

wherever you get your podcasts what happens when we come face to face with death my truck was blown up by a 20 pound anti-tank mine my parachute did not deploy i was kidnapped by a droker tilt i just remember everything getting dark i'm dying when we step beyond the edge of what we know to open our consciousness to something more than just what's in that Western box. In return. I clinically died the heart stopped beating, which I was dead for 11.5 minutes. My name is Dan Bush. My mission is simple.

To find, explore, and share these stories. I'm not a victim. I'm a survivor. You're strongest when you're the most vulnerable. To remind us what it means to be alive. Not just that I was the guy that cut his arm off, but I'm the guy who is smiling when he cut his arm off. Alive again.

a podcast about the fragility of life, the strength of the human spirit, and what it means to truly live. Listen to Alive Again on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. The truth is tennis is such an individual sport, and I've had the fortune of interviewing people from so many different sports, but tennis and Formula One, are like so dependent on the individual in the sense that you're the one playing the game. At the same time, like you said, there is a team. And so it's important to show that.

Same in F1, there is a team. Yeah. But there's just so much, even when you celebrate that day, like when you won, I was like, wait a minute, when you're on the court, you have to celebrate on your own.

Like the moment you win, whereas if you watch any other sport, the team will come together, the players run to each other. And it's like, obviously you can do that when you get into the stands, but that moment, you've got to savor it.

when you dropped to your knees and, you know. Yeah, there was a very, very emotional moment. I still, you know, feel this. Because, you know, yeah, you have a huge team. And the amount of work that those guys put in, it's incredible. And I feel like kind of like responsible for that because I know that they deserve to be the best coaches, like the best agent, the best physio, like the best team, you know. so I feel responsible when I'm out there competing because it doesn't matter how much work

they're putting you know it's at the end it's like all depends on me you know and they don't know like if you know if I'll go out there and I'll play my best and if I'll win you know so when I'm there competing I'm not only competing for myself I compete for my team but I'm like there and I'm responsible for that you know on my own yeah you're carrying a lot yeah exactly so it's stuff and that's why I feel like most of the athletes, like they, not athletes, but tennis players and Formula One, they sort of like crying after like winning something because, you know, all that pressure, all that things in your head, they just slowly go away and you feel, okay, I did it, you know? But Formula One is another level. Like, I'm a fan. I don't, I don't

know how they do that. It's like, you know, they put sort of like their life in risk and it's so fast and so crazy and for me this is intense yeah i mean i mean it's all intense no because you know we have breaks like between the points between the games those guys they're there for i don't know how long like hour and something right and they're there and like if they just lose focus for a second gone you know this is tough it is scary knowing that you can take your own life and someone else's and it's got the sport has got so much safer over time so it's yeah i know it's safer now, but still, you know. Yeah, yeah.

Are there any sports that you watch, that you love, that you follow? I love basketball. I love ice hockey, but it's not like I really have, like, one team. Okay. One team that I support. I just love to watch, especially, like, with the basketball sitting on the court side, when I see the way those guys moves, like, with their, like, height and everything. And, like, I always, like, message my fitness coach, like, okay, we gotta do.

something you know but I'm like I'm just like frozen in the moment because I just look how they move you know probably it's like a professional defect or something you know because I just watch that they're like movement and it's it's crazy it's crazy what those guys yeah you're watching a different game because you're looking at yeah I look at different things probably and Formula one I'm just like sitting there and I'm like how they can be focused for so long without like losing their focus like those races corner after corner like like it's It's crazy. Yeah, and it's repetitive as well.

Yeah, you know, it's crazy. He's doing the same thing. That's what actually crazy. Yeah, yeah. And how much time do you give yourself to now celebrate you're doing press today? I mean, like we said, it's only four eight hours. How long before you have to get back to training, back on the grind, back to the discipline? Well, the schedule is tough, you know.

But I think I'm going to give myself a couple more days to celebrate and then we're going to go back to work. but also slowly, like starting probably from the gym and then, yeah, we're going to build up because we have a couple more tournaments and then the finals, which is like top eight players, compete for the, you know, for another big trophy. So we have a couple more big tournaments coming up.

But for now, I'm going to take a couple days to celebrate because, you know, when I was struggling, I was always going back to those moments when I was winning those grand slams and I was like, I was thinking like, I wish I could just experience that again and I will celebrate like crazy because you never know if this moment going to come again, you know. Of course you work, you hope, you do your best, but at the end of the day, you never know, right? So earlier this season, I said to myself, okay, if I will win it this year, I'm going to celebrate and I'll truly.

enjoy it, you know? So the plan is for the next couple of days, enjoy it. It's good that you're honoring that because sometimes you say that before and then after you win it, you're like, now I need to just get back to it. So it's nice thing. No, no, no, no. I'm like, I have this control. I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, okay, I need to go back. But I'm like, no, no, no, no, we got to, we got to, we got to enjoy. Yeah, we got to do it. No, I loved that. I loved what you posted on your Instagram. You wrote to my team, I wouldn't be here without you, but don't forget, you wouldn't be here without me. it wouldn't be me without joking some little yeah some little you know don't forget some little spice I mean that's who I am you know yeah yeah no I genuinely I genuinely love that you're honoring your

your time and energy to celebrate it's it's such a great reminder I feel like for years and years and years in my career I was just going going going going going and there was to be more mindful to be more present to really take it in because and also mentally to be healthy right it's important to balance this hard work with a little joy. Yeah, you only come back sharper. Exactly. Have you found that as well? Has that been a big part of your recovery?

Yes. To recognize you were talking about sleep earlier. Like, talk to me about the need for rest and recovery and what you do to really find stillness. I feel like recovery is the key, you know, and if before I would blame myself even for going for a dinner during the tournament because I would think I would feel like, oh, it's, it struck me. And I wouldn't be able to be focused on. No, it's wrong. You know, you have to go for dinner.

You have to do things that brings your joy. You have to, like, sleep. You have to focus on your recovery as well because this is part of the process, you know, like to be able physically and mentally handle this pressure and this intensity, you have to have a good recovery. So it's also one of the main priorities for us. I love that.

So, Arena, I know you have this, Battle of the Sexes game coming up with Nick. Nick had been on the show. Very excited about this repeat. I don't think it's ever been done again. No, I think it's been done like a long, long time ago. Yeah, Billie Jean King. Yeah, like really long. Years ago. When was that? What was the year? The 70s, yeah. Great game. It's been a while, right?

A great movie about the, if anyone hasn't seen the actual game, there's a great movie about it too. And so with Emma Stone, I think it's bringing it back. Yeah, you're bringing it back. What inspired this? well uh yeah since we're fighting for equal price money i believe uh that's that's the reason no no but mostly it just i think it's fun and it's cool to see and it's uh interesting for me to play against the man and i'm ready to kick his uh i were allowed to use this yeah kick his ass right i'm putting a lot of pressure on him right now so i hope he's gonna just withdraw from from feeling all of the pressure yeah you can say whatever you want

give us that message to Nick. I'm going to send it to Nick straight away after this message. Well, Nick, you got to be ready. You better be ready. And, yeah, I'm going to kick your ass, man. I love it. I love it. I think the ATP going to cancel the battle.

Going to be like, well, okay, if it's happening, let it be like Janik or Carlos, but not Nick. This is turning into like a boxing match, it feels like it's like, you have seen. Yeah, I'll make sure that I'm, I'll, I'll, send him some drinks before the before the bottle just so you know Oh yeah and you've got some little tricks up your sleeve like that Yeah yeah you know I'm gonna make sure he's not ready

I love it and talk to me about this Court chains they're gonna have to help make it make so Basically I'll be on the side with like a smaller court Got it and he has a smaller area to Yeah to hit and and he's he's gonna be on the regular size So kind of like unfair already right I don't know if it's unfair. And I think we're going to have one surf age.

That's it. That's very exciting. Where is it taking place? We're still trying to figure it. Okay. I want to come watch. Come. So you're going to let me know, yeah.

You're going to sit on my side. I'll cheer for you. I'm going to message Nick Noggan. I'm cheering for Arina. I love it. I'm on your side. Thank you. Arena, is there anything I haven't asked you that you wish I did ask you?

Anything you? You know, I think you. I mean, you know what you do. You know what you do? You ask everything I wish of talking about. Yeah, I'm making sure because I don't take these opportunities for granted. I feel so lucky that I get to sit with you 48 hours after winning. I feel so fortunate I get to speak to one of the best, you know, in the game, number one in the world.

I'm so happy to be in your podcast and it's been a dream of mine for so long and finally we did. We did it. Thank you. I'm so grateful that I get to be part of your dreams. I mean that we end every episode with a final five. So these have to be answered in one word to one sentence maximum. Okay. But I always go away from that.

So don't worry about it. Okay. Let's see. Arena, Svelenko, these are your final five. The first question is, what is the best advice you've ever heard or received? Focus on yourself and don't listen to people because most of the people want you to fail. So focus on yourself. and on people close to you.

Who said that to you? My father. That's awesome. How old were you when he first said that to you? He said it to me when I was 17, I think. Okay. He was waiting probably for the moment for me to be ready to, I don't know, to accept some sort of deep advice, actually.

How long before you feel you really took it to heart and really understood it? Maybe when he passed away. You know, I feel like when we're a lot. losing a person that this is the moment when we actually realize how much we lost you know like and we appreciate every little small detail and the memories keep still coming up in my head you know I'm like oh you know so you have to you have to appreciate if you still have your family just for people you have to appreciate it and you have to really take care of your closest one.

Do you keep any physical part of him on you at any time when you're playing or in your bag or anywhere or not really? It's more in your heart. It's more in my heart. It's more in my heart. When he passed away, I had auditors from him. But then I was crying like crazy when I figured that they disappeared after like a year and I didn't like record it, save it somehow. It wasn't in in the app. Just to like keep his voice. and because he wasn't the person who would like take a lot of videos, you know, like pictures and stuff. I don't have that either either. So I was really depressed that I don't have his like voice, but he's in my, in my heart,

in my memory. I think that's the most important. That's beautiful. Question number two, what is the worst advice you've ever heard or received? You know, like bad things never stay in my head. Good answer. I don't remember any, like, bad advice. That's good answer.

Work with IMD maybe. Good answer. All right, very cool. Question number three, I'm going to say, oh, what would you say are your three most life-changing games that you've ever played? Three most life-changing matches. And they don't have to be finals or wins. Yeah, I think the semi-final against medicine key said they used open two years ago. I think, yeah, two years ago. Why that one? Because I was down set and I think 5-1 or something and I came back in the match and I won that one and I made my first final. So I think there was the moment when I realized a lot of things.

How does it feel to be 5-1 down? Oh, it feels terrible. It's a terrible feeling but you're still hoping that maybe... How do you keep hope in that moment? Because 5-1 is literally like... Yeah, it's like... Especially against big server, you know? No chance.

I don't know. What are you holding on to? You're just trying. You know, like you, I was like reminding myself. I mean, it's a dream to be in the semis. So there is no way you're going to give up. Even like, it doesn't matter how things going on, like how badly it is. You have to like still try and then maybe, maybe there's going to be a moment when you figured something and you find your game,

you're rhythm and you'll get the win. And I did it. And it was kind of like a life-changing moment. And then, oh, what else? Winning the first slam, of course, gave me a huge, huge belief, you know, that, okay, I'm capable of it. And my life wasn't waste of time, you know. And the third one. Your life was definitely not a waste of time.

No, but, you know, I don't mean like your career just used. You know, like, it would be really difficult for me to finish my career without the slam. And the third one, I don't know. I don't know. There was one match when I won, there is a tournament in Doha and I won the tournament, but I think in quarterfinals I was also like down the set and was struggling a lot, was playing really not my best tennis and I won that match and then I won the tournament also was kind of like a big moment for me. I think these three.

It's amazing that the two of the ones you chose, are when you're down and you come back like there's something this is the moment where you like gives you like that power because next match you play you think oh I mean come on I've been down five once seriously you you think that I'm going to give up like that just because I like lose my surf or whatever so it just gives you that power to fight yeah it's a great reminder to all of us that no matter what those are the moments to look out for because they become your best they become your best glory there stay there keep fighting and And this is probably the biggest moment.

Yeah. Question number three, what do you think people misunderstand about you that you'd like to clarify? Well, I think because now I'm sharing myself more on social media, they have better understanding about me. But I think there is still some people that they think that the way I am on court, this is like a reflection of me off court, which is not true. Because I think, as I said earlier, you know, I'm quite aggressive because I'm on. court because I'm fighting for my dream there and this is not the time where you have to be nice yeah because of the court I'm much nicer like I'm chill it's really tough to get into a fight with me you know so you have to do something terrible yeah probably my boyfriend will say different

but I still think yeah so people misunderstand that that I'm different yeah if people say like oh she's too emotional or unstable or whatever it is you're like that's just on the court I have to be yeah that's on the court that's arena on the court yeah and that's not arena off court yeah I get that I mean this sounds ridiculous but it's so true like me and my friends just play amateur everything like I don't play any sport well but we get so competitive just playing around so I can't imagine watching like you know people yeah play play tennis for fun But they're not taking it as fun, you know, they go full. Exactly.

And you're like actually playing a tournament. Like, I'm like, I'm pretty, I'm pretty, all my friends know that when we're playing a sport, I'm extremely competitive. And I'm not like that in real life or in person, you know. And that's, and I'm not even playing the final, you know, and so yeah, there's, there has to be a bit of grace. I feel like there has to be a bit of grace for athletes. I'm like, you're, you realize. Yeah, like a little bit like, you know, like stop yourself and like look at everything as a bigger picture, you know, like, okay. Yeah, definitely. Question number four, before the fifth, which where do I want to go here?

One day, long time from now, we hope you're going to win so many more grand slams. I'm putting out loads of good energy. When you look back on your career, what would you like for yourself to feel about it? What would you like to say about your own career? I would love to look back and say, I've done everything I could. and I want my career to be remembered and then I want to see young kids being inspired by me and I want to look back and know that I actually inspired a lot

and yeah I want to be in the history I love that I love that you already are you already are sort of not even close to the greatest but we're trying Yeah. The trying is the most important part. It's wonderful to hear you say that. It's really special. If you remind kids to try, I think that would help a lot of kids. Yeah. Because not every kid will become number one, but every kid can try and chase their dream. That would be a good world to live in. Just give your best. And that's all you can do. Yeah. Fifth and final question, arena, we ask this to every guest who's ever been on the show. The question is, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be? I want everything to be decided in a conversation

and no worse and stuff just like sit down, speak and figure it all of the problems That's a great law That's what we need in the world right now Save a lot of lives Yeah save a lot of lives yeah If we were able to solve things by Just by talking sitting and figuring they're not live in the room

before you figured something. Yeah, that's a great answer. We've never had that before. Arena Savalanka, congratulations again. Thank you. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to you coming on many years.

Usually when people come on once, they come on a few times. So I look forward to doing this with you many, many times. Yeah, let's make it as our transition. Yes, I'd love that. I'd love that. Congrats. Thank you. Thank you for bringing the first ever trophy of the show.

You deserve it. And you're a true champion and a true leader. So thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you. If you love this podcast, you'll love my episode with Lewis Hamilton. Lewis and I talk about why you should stop chasing society's definition of success and how to be more intentional with your goals. You don't want to miss it. It's not about being perfect. It's about just every day, one step at a time, trying to be better, trying to do more. I'm learning a lot about myself. I have to break myself down in order to be able to be better.

I'm Radhid Dvlukaya and I'm the host of a really good cry podcast and I have the opportunity to talk to Logan Yuri. If you're out there trying to date right now, being ghosted on Hinge or want to create a dating profile that gives you a solid chance of matching with someone you actually want to go on a date with. Then this episode with Hinge's Director of Relationship Science, Logan Yuri is definitely for you. Relationships do require work. The best relationships are people who really work on them together. Listen to a really good cry on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. cost. What happens when we come face to face with death? My truck was blown up by a 20-pound anti-taint mine. My parachute did not deploy. I was kidnapped by a drug cartel. When we step beyond the edge of what we know,

clinically died the heart stopped beating, which I was dead for 11.5 minutes. In return, it's a miracle I was brought back. Alive Again, a podcast about the strength of the human spirit. Listen to Alive Again on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. This week on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler. Marin Morris is here. You came out of a marriage. You came out of quote-unquote country music. And you had a huge growth spurt from what I can tell.

I was expanding and growing at a really fast pace. And yes, you could throw motherhood and the postpartum thing, learning about myself. There were a lot of like identity crises going on. But I realized like I can't look back and slow down for people. Listen to Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.