Aryna Sabalenka returned to 30 Rock in Manhattan this week for another appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The World No. 1’s last appearance, you might recall, came after she won her second consecutive US Open title in September. (That was a cameo, alongside fellow champion “Carlos Alcaraz”, aka comedian Fred Armisen.)
This time around was different, as the 27-year-old had a full seven-minute conversation with the host.
Among other topics, they discussed her love for New York, her lack of control over grunting, her strong social media game — like this clip, for example — and where her mind sometimes travels when she has a big lead in a match.
Always honest, Sabalenka admitted that it occasionally wanders to where she’ll be eating later that night — and whether she’ll have a table.
“So many times I start thinking about, ‘Did my team make the reservation in my favorite place?'” she said to a big laugh from the audience. “And I start thinking about the order, what I’m gonna order, and then I have to bring myself back every time. Like, ‘Come on Aryna. You’re still on the court. The job is not finished yet!’ … For me, it’s important. The dinner has to be good.”
Fallon also brought up Sabalenka’s good-luck charm: signing her longtime performance coach Jason Stacy’s bald head.
She revealed how that superstition started.
“People know how silly our team is,” she explained, “and sometimes we just like to do silly things. And then he was just saying, ‘Sign my head.’ I’m like, ‘I will do that.’ I found a Sharpie, I did sign it, and it brought good luck. I won the tournament.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion admitted it’s been awhile since she’s signed Stacy’s head — she seems to be doing just fine without it — but Fallon asked if she wouldn’t mind signing his forehead.
She obliged, with a nice little signature above the left eyebrow.
Sabalenka will kick off her 2026 season at the WTA 500 Brisbane International — where she’s the defending champion — in a loaded field with six other Top 10 players.
