Tennis-Old habits die hard, Sabalenka derailed by erratic serve at Indian Wells

Mar 19, 2023; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Aryna Sabalenka reacts after missing a shot as she was defeated by Elena Rybakina (KAZ) in the women’s final of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - Aryna Sabalenka said she had slipped back into "old habits" with her serve during her 7-6(11) 6-4 loss to Elena Rybakina in Sunday's Indian Wells final but the Australian Open champion vowed to learn from her mistakes and come back stronger.

Sabalenka struggled with her serve over the last few years before a stint with a biomechanics trainer turned her weakness into a weapon, which she used to great effect en route to her first Grand Slam title in January.