Sabalenka’s secret to success

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, who recently won the US Open women's singles title, said about her weakness, "Shopping. I can't control that at all." In an interview, the four-time Grand Slam winner was asked about the secret to her success. Sabalenka said, "The real secret to success is discipline. Getting up every morning, going to practice. Sometimes you don't feel like getting up in the morning and going to practice. But you have to go. If you can do that, success will come. If you love what you're doing, then success cannot be stopped. That's why I've been able to win so many trophies."

The thought of failure haunts you in difficult times. Wanting to quit the game. Did such a thought cross Sabalenka's mind? The Belarusian star said, "Of course it did. It happened about three years ago. I was repeatedly making 'double faults'. I couldn't serve correctly at all. I came close to quitting the game. I couldn't figure out how to solve the problem. I took the help of a psychologist. I thought, this time I have to quit the game. Then I fixed the problem with the help of someone. It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been strong at that time. I moved forward with a mentality of not giving up. After that, I won my first Grand Slam. Such times come in everyone's life. You have to have the strength to get through it.''

Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz, the women's and men's singles champions, won the US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York at midnight Bangladesh time on Sunday.

With this victory, the two stars from Belarus and Spain won the most prize money in tennis history at the US Open. They received 5 million US dollars each, which is about 610 million taka in Bangladeshi currency.

However, Sabalenka and Alcaraz are not able to return home with the full amount of money. They have to deposit almost one-third of the prize money as taxes to the US treasury. Each of the champions paid $1.85 million in taxes, or about 230 million taka.

Under US tax law, income over $600,000 is taxed at a rate of 37 percent. Accordingly, Alcaraz and Sabalenka had to pay about $1.85 million in taxes each. Along with this, the deductions for coaches, agents, support staff, and travel expenses totaled about $2 million, or about 240 million taka. Which means that Alcaraz-Sabalenka are returning home with $3 million, or about 370 million taka.

After winning her sixth Grand Slam, Alcaraz's career earnings are now $53.5 million, or about 651 million taka. Sabalenka is also the fourth highest earner in women's tennis, with a career income of $42.3 million, or about 515 million taka.