Sabalenka, fight fan? World No. 2 enjoys UFC bout in Abu Dhabi
Aryna Sabalenka is apparently a fight fan.
The World No. 2, taking some much-needed time to rest and recharge ahead of the year-end WTA Finals at Indian Wells next month, was in attendance at the UFC fight in Abu Dhabi this past weekend.
"You know the tiger loves a good fight…." Sabalenka posted on Instagram, with photos of her enjoying the action from envious seats at Etihad Arena.
Sabalenka was highlighted on the Paramount+ broadcast of UFC 333, headlined by featherweights Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev.
"I'm loving the fights," Sabalenka said in a video posted on UFC's Instagram page. "Great atmosphere. I'm really enjoying it."
Sabalenka's brief break between the Finals has also included some beach time, which she shared photos of on Instagram. The carousel also included footage of her hitting ahead of the prestigious tournament in the desert.
Sabalenka will be contesting her fifth WTA Finals following a season in which she's gone 47-11 and won three WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz titles, including back-to-back WTA 1000 wins in Indian Wells and Miami. She's never won the Finals, but has made it to the championship match twice, in 2022 and 2025.
She's played two tournaments since losing the US Open final to Elena Rybakina, who supplanted her as World No. 1 in New York. The first was in Beijing, where she beat Renata Zarazua before losing to Nikola Bartunkova. She then went one and done in Wuhan, falling to Ann Li 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) after saving nine match points.
She became the second player to qualify for the WTA Finals in late September. In addition to Rybakina, she'll be joined in Indian Wells by Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
The WTA Finals will kick off on Nov. 8 and run through Nov. 15.
