Aryna Sabalenka is all set to compete in her sixth Grand Slam final, this time against Coco Gauff, in the 2025 French Open summit clash. The Belarusian is currently coached by Anton Dubrov, a collaboration that has been continuing since 2020.
Dubrov himself was an active ATP Tour player but could never make a mark on the Tour, playing only ten matches, of which he won only won. His highest ranking was 272 on the ITF tour, signifying that the Belarusian did not have much success in his playing days.
Dubrov was Sabalenka’s hitting partner before he officially took charge as her coach. The Belarusian had her most prolific period as a tennis player under Dubrov’s tutelage, as she won 15 of her 20 career titles (including three Major titles).
Sabalenka won three titles under Dubrov in 2020, including a WTA 1000 title at the Qatar Open, where she defeated Petra Kvitova in the final. The next year, she won another WTA 1000 title at the Madrid Open. However, 2022 proved to be the first challenging year for the Dubrov-Sabalenka partnership, as the Belarusian player went trophyless, and her problems with double faults were well documented at that time.
However, Dubrov decided to continue on Sabalenka's request despite thinking about resigning in 2023. The partnership got its biggest breakthrough as Sabalenka won the Australian Open. Since then, there has been no looking back, as she has won ten titles in the last two years and finished the last season as the World No. 1 for the first time in her career.
Aryna Sabalenka has been in tremendous form in 2025

Of the 10 events she has played in 2025, Aryna Sabalenka reached the final in seven of those occasions. She has won a WTA 500 title in Adelaide and two WTA 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid, while also making the finals of the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open.
Sabalenka has been superior compared to other players this year, improving her power game consistently while adding variations like the slice and drop shot to her arsenal. She has kept her composure and has been able to raise her game in the pressure situations, as was seen in her French Open semifinal against Iga Swiatek, as she bagelled the Pole in the third set.
Her head-to-head against Coco Gauff is tied at 5-5, and this is the duo's third Grand Slam meeting. While the American player won her 2023 US Open final against the Belarusian, Aryna Sabalenka won their match at the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open.