Naomi Osaka Scores Big as Aryna Sabalenka Joins Nick Kyrgios to Commit to Her Groundbreaking Player Initiative

Aryna Sabalenka is a force to be reckoned with, and she’s showing no signs of slowing down! After an incredible 2024 that saw her win two Grand Slams and snatch the World No. 1 ranking from Iga Swiatek, the tennis star’s impact is now making waves off the court too. The latest buzz? Sabalenka has joined the exclusive club of elite players under the banner of Naomi Osaka’s venture, Evolve—following in the footsteps of none other than Nick Kyrgios!

The Belarusian tennis sensation is currently enjoying her campaign at Brisbane International and has qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament. She will be facing Mirra Andreeva in the final four and would look forward to boosting her morale ahead of the Australian Open. But ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year, Sabalenka has entered into an agreement with Evolve, stylized as EVOLVE, joining several other tennis entities and becoming one of the biggest WTA names to join Osaka’s endeavor. 

Taking to its official Instagram handle on Friday, Evolve announced the remarkable partnership. Captioning the story, it wrote, “Welcome to EVOLVE @arynasabalenka 🐯.” Remember, it was in 2022 when Osaka ended her partnership with IMG to launch her own sports agency, Evolve, with her agent Stuart Duguid. Since then, she has managed to work with several iconic players like Nick Kyrgios. 

It was in June 2022, when Kyrgios became one of the first tennis players to sign to Osaka’s sports agency. The Japanese tennis star had lauded the Australian sensation back then, saying, “Kyrgios embodies the types of athletes we want to work with at Evolve.” Remember, Osaka’s venture wishes to focus on aspects like brand partnerships, investing, creating athlete-owned businesses, and philanthropy. In the process, it also managed to sign a deal with Jannik Sinner’s girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya, and Tunisian star Ons Jabeur.

“Ons is an ideal Evolve client,” Evolve co-founder Duguid said after the partnership. However, Sabalenka’s addition to the agency will help it boost the brand image further given the achievements that the World No. 1 has amassed. And as she inches closer to yet another title in Brisbane, her strength on the courts is only getting stronger. Meanwhile, besides her off-court endeavors, the Belarusian star is equally focused on her campaigns on the courts. And it is probably for this reason, that despite tasting great success, she wishes to continue improving herself. 

Aryna Sabalenka opens up on her plans for the 2025 season

Aryna Sabalenka proved her mettle quite strongly in 2024. She managed to remain stoic in the toughest of situations and overcame barriers with determination. But despite putting in graceful efforts, the star player does not want to leave any room for mistakes and wishes to continue improving herself as she steps into a new season. 

Speaking about the same to BBC Sports, Sabalenka said, “There are so many things to improve.” Continuing further, she added, “I’m not that good with maybe my game at the net in singles. There is a lot of things to improve in my touch game. Even my serve is not as good as I want it to be, so there is always (elements) to improve.” And it would not be wrong to say that the ongoing campaign is sort of an experiment for her ahead of a motivated run in Melbourne. 

“The first tournament before the major tournament is the one where you can try it out and see what’s going to work well for you, and what’s not,” Sabalenka said earlier in the interview. As the new season kicks off, Sabalenka is clearly aiming for more than just trophies—she’s cementing herself as a global icon. Now, the question is what’s next for the remarkable Belarusian? Well, only time will tell.