It’s ‘fine’ with Sabalenka

World No. 1 calls season schedule ‘insane’ happy to be fined for skipping events

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Aryna Sabalenka describes the tennis schedule as “insane” and said she'll risk fines in order to skip tournaments to avoid injuries or burnout.

For all those concerns, though, the world’s top-ranked woman is happy to have as much competition as possible before the season-opening Grand Slam in Australia.

Sabalenka beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to move into the Brisbane International quarterfinals, where she'll take on fifth-seeded Madison Keys almost a year after losing to her in the Australian Open final.