Aryna Sabalenka is not a player who changes her team often. Anton Dubrov has been her head coach since 2020, and performance coach Jason Stacy has been by her side since 2018. However, 2026 is her first season without a Grand Slam in four years, which seems to have spurred her action. Max Mirnyi, who only joined her camp last year, is out, and more changes are on the cards.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
After her loss to Mirra Andreeva in the second match of the group stage at the WTA Finals, Sabalenka, speaking in the mixed zone, confirmed that she and Mirnyi are no longer working together. However, the Belarusian made it clear that it was a friendly split.
“We stopped officially working together, but Max is that kind of guy who’s always there for me, always in touch, always giving his advice, or I can call him anytime,” she said. “Maybe, I don’t know, next year, in a couple years, we’re gonna get back together. But for now, there’s like some changes in my team, hopefully for a better future.”
It was the first time she had addressed the move directly, after there were some speculation reported before the tournament.
“I mean, hitting partner, I changed since, I don’t know, maybe Europe, and then new physio, and potentially an extra coach,” Sabalenka added. Pressed on whether she plans to bring in another coach, she kept it open. “I don’t know, we’ll see.”
Imago
Physiotherapist Helen Murawska was also no longer part of the setup. She will continue with her longtime head coach, Anton Dubrov, and performance coach, Jason Stacy, so the backbone of the team that helped her win four Grand Slams and pushed her to the top of the world remains intact.
Mirnyi’s partnership was brief but fruitful. The former doubles world No. 1, a 10-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, joined her team in the summer of 2025 to sharpen her net game and transition play. Sabalenka won the 2025 US Open with him and this year completed the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami.
She also reached the finals of the 2025 WTA Finals, the 2026 Australian Open and the 2026 US Open. Earlier this week, she had hinted at the split after her opening win, saying,
“He is not here at Indian Wells with us, but Max has always been a great supporter.” The timing of the confirmation was telling, because it came on one of her most difficult nights of the year.
Sabalenka’s WTA Finals hopes now rest on Svitolina decider
Andreeva beat the world No. 2 6-4, 6-0 in just 62 minutes. Sabalenka had taken a lead of 4-1 and had been in control of the first set, before the match turned on a dime. The 19-year-old Russian won 20 of the next 23 points and the final 11 games in a row, with Sabalenka playing with tape above her right knee. The 2026 Roland Garros champion went 2-0 in Group 2 and advanced to the semifinals as Group winner, having lost just eight games in two matches.
It was the third time Sabalenka has been bageled in 2026, by three different players. Diana Shnaider did it in the Roland Garros quarterfinals in June, winning 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 after Sabalenka had led by a set and 4-1. Jessica Pegula followed less than three weeks later in the Berlin semifinals, taking the deciding set 6-0 in a 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-0 win.
Getty
Before this year, Sabalenka had not lost a set to love since February 2024, when Donna Vekic did it in Dubai. That’s the third in less than six months for a player who hasn’t had one in two years, and it’s understandable why she might want a new direction.
Aryna Sabalenka is still alive in the tournament as she beat Karolina Muchova 7-6(2), 7-5 in her opener, which leaves her at 1-1. Her final group match is against Elina Svitolina on Friday, and it is a straight shoot-out for the last semifinal place.
The Ukrainian has kept her own hopes alive on Wednesday by coming from a set down to beat Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 after needing a medical timeout. A win would send Sabalenka into the WTA Finals semifinals for the fifth year in a row. The two last met in the Australian Open semifinals in January, when Sabalenka won 6-2, 6-3.
The head-to-head stands overwhelmingly in favor of the former world No. 1, 6-1, but there will be extreme tension between the two players as the spot for the last four is open. With Rybakina’s absence, Sabalenka will aim for her maiden WTA Finals title. The tension will even spill over the net, as there will be no handshakes and photo shoots before and after the match between the players, in regard to their nationalities.
The 28-year-old Belarusian has not won a title since Miami in March, and she lost the world No. 1 ranking to Elena Rybakina after the US Open final. Last week, she revealed she had gone back to working with a psychologist, saying she needed someone to help her find herself again. A new hitting partner, a new physio and the possibility of another coach all point in the same direction.
Friday’s match will decide how her year ends, but the bigger decisions are already being made, clearing the decks before 2027. If she does make another addition to her box, it will be the most closely watched hire of the off-season.