Naomi Osaka scores big as Aryna Sabalenka joins Nick Kyrgios to champion her groundbreaking player initiative

Aryna Sabalenka is a force to be reckoned with and she shows no signs of slowing down! After an incredible 2024 in which she won two Grand Slams and took the world No. 1 ranking away from Iga Swiatek, the tennis star’s impact is now making waves off the court. 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 season at the Brisbane International and has qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament. She will face Mirra Andreeva in the final and would be looking forward to boosting her morale ahead of the Australian Open. But ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam, Sabalenka has inked a deal with Evolve, stylized as EVOLVE, joining several other tennis companies and becoming one of the biggest WTA names to join Osaka’s venture.

Evolve announced the remarkable partnership on its official Instagram account on Friday. Under the story’s headline, it wrote: “Welcome to EVOLVE @arynasabalenka 🐯.” Remember, it was in 2022 when Osaka ended her partnership with IMG to start her own sports agency, Evolve, with her agent Stuart Duguid. Since then, she has managed to work with several legendary players such as Nick Kyrgios.

It was in June 2022 when Kyrgios became one of the first tennis players to sign with Osaka’s sports agency. The Japanese tennis star had praised the Australian sensation at the time, saying: “Kyrgios embodies the type of athletes we want to work with at Evolve.” Remember that Osaka’s company wants to focus on aspects such as brand partnerships, investments, the creation of athlete-owned companies and philanthropy. It was also possible to conclude a deal with Jannik Sinner’s girlfriend Anna Kalinskayaand Tunisian star Ons Jabeur.

“Ons is an ideal Evolve customersaid Evolve co-founder Duguid after the partnership. However, the addition of Sabalenka to the agency will help further strengthen the brand image given the successes the world No. 1 has achieved. And as she inches ever closer to another title in Brisbane, her strength on the court continues to grow stronger. In addition to her off-field activities, the Belarusian star is now also focusing on her on-field campaigns. And probably for this reason, despite great success, she wants to continue to improve.

Aryna Sabalenka talks about her plans for the 2025 season

Aryna Sabalenka has proven her mettle quite strongly in 2024. She managed to remain stoic in the most difficult situations and overcome obstacles with determination. But despite her graceful efforts, the star player wants to leave no room for error and continue to improve as a new season begins.

Speaking to BBC Sports, Sabalenka said: “There are so many things to improve.” She continued, adding: “I may not be that good when it comes to my singles net game. There are a lot of things I can improve on in my touch game. Even my serve isn’t as good as I would like, so there are always (elements) I can improve.” And it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the ongoing campaign is a kind of experiment for them ahead of a motivated run in Melbourne.

““The first tournament before the big tournament is the one where you can try it out and see what works well for you and what doesn’t.” Sabalenka said earlier in the interview. As the new season begins, Sabalenka is clearly aiming for more than just trophies – she is cementing herself as a global icon. The question now is, what’s next for the remarkable Belarusian? Well, only time will tell.