“I will leave!” 😂 Aryna Sabalenka aims to avoid rivals during off-season Maldives vacation

The 2025 season is nearly over and Aryna Sabalenka already has her vacation plans booked.

Sabalenka has enjoyed a busy but successful season, one where she maintained wire-to-wire dominance over the WTA rankings and reached three Grand Slam finals, winning her fourth major victory at the US Open.

Through to the semifinals of the WTA Finals with a 3-0 round-robin record in Riyadh, the world No. 1 has maintained friendly rivalries with her fellow competitors. But Sabalenka nonetheless hopes for a break from them as much as anything else once the season concludes and she heads off to the Maldives:

Q: Aryna, obviously, there's more work to do, but the off season is very close. I know you are like a travel agent, with all the trips that you take, is there anything that you are looking forward to?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, it's already planned. Tickets, actually, I think my boyfriend already ybought tickets. But I'm trying not to think about that, you know, a bit too early. Like, still have, hopefully, a couple matches to go.

Q: Somewhere you've never been?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I've never been to Maldives.

Q: Is it Maldives?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yes, I'm excited.

Q: There's a lot of islands to pick from.

ARYNA SABALENKA: I'm actually asking around, you know, like, ‘Where are you going, guys?’ So, yeah, I'm hoping that we're not gonna, like, can you imagine like, if you land and there's, like, bunch of tennis players! Come on, guys. I will leave! I love the atmosphere. But you know, like, for the offseason, I prefer not to be around tennis players!

No stranger to a fabulous vacation, Sabalenka may be in for disappointment in that department. After all, the Maldives has historically been one of the most popular destinations for tennis stars looking to unplug before kicking off their pre-season. Odds seem strong fans will see the world No. 1 sharing a piña colada with at least one of her fellow players before getting back into gear in 2026.

In the meantime, Sabalenka will renew her rivalry with Amanda Anisimova for the chance to reach her second championship match at the WTA Finals, having finished runner-up to Caroline Garcia back in 2022.