How Jodie Burrage is learning from Aryna Sabalenka, using her 'fire for good' and 'believing a bit more'
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Updated 07/02/2024 at 15:22 GMT
Jodie Burrage tells Eurosport how she is trying to learn from world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, why she now watches more tennis, and how she is working on the mental side of her game. British No. 2 Burrage recently reached her first WTA 500 quarter-final in Linz, and is also up to No. 88 in the world rankings. She says she is trying to "believe in myself a little bit more".
Britain's Burrage wins first set but loses out to Korpatsch - Australian Open highlights
If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best.
And if you don’t have the chance to beat the best right now, is learning from them the next best thing?
That’s what Jodie Burrage is attempting to do.
In the last six months, the British No. 2 has moved from outside the top 100 to almost a career-high ranking, got her first win at Wimbledon, and reached her first WTA 500 quarter-final in Linz.
She has also had a few difficult moments along the way.
A jittery Billie Jean King Cup debut, a “brutal” first appearance on Centre Court at Wimbledon, and most recently a “panic stations” first-round loss at the Australian Open all seemed to be occasions when nerves got the better of Burrage.
In order to help with that, Burrage is looking to learn from a player whose fortunes have been transformed by an improved mental approach.
Once seemingly held back from the very top by everything but her physical attributes, it has all clicked together for Aryna Sabalenka over the last 18 months and her new-found mental fortitude has helped her win back-to-back Australian Open titles and reach six straight Grand Slam semi-finals.
“There's obviously a few players that you want to take parts of their game from, and someone at the moment who has really figured out her mental side is Sabalenka,” says Burrage to Eurosport.
“And I think I'm saying Sabalenka as well because I played her at the US Open last year and I learned a lot from that match.
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“I have followed her results a little bit more and she's had some great results. And I think that's come from mentally, she's in such a great place now.
“I feel like we are similar in the fact that we're both not... she's obviously not silent on court, I'm definitely not silent on court either. And it's trying to channel that in the right way. And I think that's what she's figured out right now.
“So I feel that's why I could relate to her a little bit. And you basically have to try and use that fire for the good, not the bad. And yeah, that's what went well in Linz.
“Sometimes it's not going to go well, but it's just trying to get that balance. So yeah, she's definitely someone I think at the moment who's obviously right at the top of her game and that everyone should be trying to learn off a little bit.
“With her game style, my game style, with how she is on court, I think there's a lot of similarities there. So I can definitely take a few things from her.”
It’s not just Sabalenka either.
Burrage, 24, has become a regular tennis watcher in recent years and has also started to look back more at her own matches to see what can be gleaned.
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Jodie Burrage
Image credit: Getty Images
“I do like watching because at the moment I just feel like I need to learn,” she says.
“I feel like that's really important. A few years ago, I wouldn't have said that I did watch that much tennis, but now I'm starting to watch my matches back a bit as well.
“And it's not just watching to watch it, you're actually looking for things, and watching players that you can relate to. I think that's important and I think it's something that that's helped me in the last year or so.
“I don’t write anything down, I just make like mental notes, about what they do or how they react in certain stages and how they react to certain situations. I think I'm quite a visual player, so if I see it, I learn from it a lot better if I am just talking to someone.”
A secret switch-up
Burrage’s post-match debrief following her loss to Tamara Korpatsch at the Australian Open included some of the more illuminating analysis you will hear from a tennis player, especially in defeat.
As well as discussing going through “panic stations” as she lost nine of the last 10 games, she detailed her need for a “Plan B” and how she has “struggled” her “whole career” with self-belief.
It was an incredibly honest personal assessment from Burrage, who since returning from Melbourne has been making changes, including an addition to her morning routine which has so far helped.
“There’s just something that I'm doing every day now in the morning, it started before Linz and obviously Linz went well, so right now it's working,” she says.
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Jodie Burrage
Image credit: Getty Images
“So there are a few things that I'm trying to change and do, but ultimately last week really did help my confidence a little bit.
“But it's a long road, it’s not just going to be one or two weeks.”
Asked whether can she expand on what she is doing in the mornings, Burrage said: “I don't want to divulge too much, just because it's new to me and I just want to see if it works.
“But yeah, it's definitely just to get me in a good place mentally and just to get myself believing that I can win these matches and play at that level.
“And yeah, it's kind of like, ‘oh, is it a coincidence that you start it and then you have a really good week?’ It's better to do it that way than you start it and you've not had a great week, but it’s definitely just to try and get me believing in myself a little bit more.”
Burrage has worked with a psychologist for around three years.
She says she has seen the benefits and views it as “really important” in a sport where the “mental side is massive”.
“I feel like once you get up to a good level, which is what I'm at now, everything matters.
“So it's not just the on-court stuff you're doing, it's the stuff in the gym. It's warming up, cooling down, and then the mental side. So yeah, it's been good. And I think it's definitely something that I will carry on doing.”
Burrage is currently at No. 88 in the world rankings, three spots below her career-best ranking of 85.
She is recovering from an injury sustained in her quarter-final run in Linz but hopes to play in San Diego later this month before the WTA 1000 double-header of Indian Wells and Miami in March.
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