NEW YORK (AFP) — Aryna Sabalenka brushed off concerns about her slumping form as she prepared to launch her bid for a third straight US Open crown.

The world No. 1 from Belarus arrives in New York following a disappointing run of recent results and has not won a tournament since her victory in the Miami Open in March.

However, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion insists she is ready to turn the page at Flushing Meadows over the next fortnight, a venue that has been a happy hunting ground for her in recent years with back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025.

“Always confident,” the 28-year-old told reporters about her mindset.

Sabalenka started the year in blistering form, with a win in Brisbane before reaching the final of the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets to Elena Rybakina.

She bounced back from that loss to complete the “Sunshine Double” with wins at Indian Wells and Miami but has not challenged for a title since.

She exited in the quarterfinals at the French Open and was bundled out in the fourth round at Wimbledon by Naomi Osaka.

Those defeats were followed by fourth round exits at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open earlier this month, leaving Sabalenka with everything to prove heading to New York.

Sabalenka though said she is confident of playing her way out of poor form.

“That’s the beauty of sport,” she said. “Throw tough challenges at me, I will come back only stronger.”

“It wasn’t the best period. I don’t want to defend myself, but obviously I just don’t want to talk about that period. I’ve been dealing with several things.”

“But who cares, right? I didn’t perform my best. These tough lessons are definitely going to make me way, way stronger and work even harder.”

“I work on my mental side of the game. I was trying to reset my mind and to come back stronger, so it’s only going to make me stronger. It’s only a matter of time for me to come back.”

Sabalenka could become only the third woman after Chris Evert and Serena Williams to win three consecutive US Opens if she claims the fifth Grand Slam title of her career in New York.

“They’re the biggest, and they’re legends. I was growing up looking up to them, and I loved the way they dominated the tour,” Sabalenka said.

“So if I would be able to put my name kind of, like, slightly next to them, that means a lot to me.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz said he feels at “100 percent” ahead of his defense of the US Open, but acknowledged feeling anxious after a four-month layoff due to a wrist injury.

The Spaniard has drawn confidence from grueling practice sessions ahead of the Grand Slam, he told reporters at a pre-tournament media day.

“I need to come here to practice with these guys to feel the competition once again, and this is a real test,” he said. “I’m feeling great and that helped me a lot to know right now that it’s all in my head,” he said.

Alcaraz, 23, the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam after triumphing in Australia in January, hasn’t played singles since 16 April, withdrawing from the Barcelona Open with a right wrist injury and subsequently skipping both the French Open and Wimbledon.

Alcaraz, who partnered Serena Williams in the US Open’s mixed doubles event on Tuesday, told reporters on Friday that his coaching and support team had complete confidence that he was ready to go.

“I gotta trust my people that tell me that it’s gonna be fine. So I just have to go 100 percent,” he said.

“So I’m just trying to like stay away from that fear.”