Aryna Sabalenka, who won her fourth grand slam title at the US Open defeating Amanda Anisimova, has credited a book that cost her just 10 pounds (sold for far less in India) for the turnaround in her career. James R Doty’s bestseller ‘Into the Magic Shop’ that tells the story of a “neurosurgeon’s quest to discover the mysteries of the brain and the secrets of the heart”, seems to have done the trick for her.
“I was in Mykonos, reading my book, enjoying the view, and I was just thinking that why would I let my emotions take control over me in those two finals? Going into this final I decided for myself that I’m going to control my emotions. I’m not going to let them take control over me, and [it] doesn’t matter what happens in the match,” she told The Times, London.
She was on a holiday at the Greek island of Mykonos after her defeat in Wimbledon, when she decided to pick the book that was heavily recommended to her by her friends.
“I’ve seen so many friends of mine reading that book and recommending it, saying, ‘Oh my God, you have to read it, this book is incredible. It’s about the way the brain works, and you have to read it.’ So I was like, ‘OK, I have to’. It was the right moment for me to go for that book,” Sabalenka said. “The way it’s written, it’s very interesting because it’s a real story with the guy who learnt how to control himself and how to not overthink. Reading that book, I realised a lot of things. That book really helped me to stay focused and to focus on the right things on important points.”
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, reacts after defeating Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, during the women’s finals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sabalenka also told the The Times that she no longer works with a sports psychologist. ““I’ve been working with a psychologist for four or five years. She helped me a lot at the beginning, especially to understand that everything is possible as long as you put the work in and you dedicate your time and life for your dream. But then at some point I realised I was relying on her so much. I thought that she has to fix me, she has to give me an answer, so I wasn’t really taking the responsibility over my actions. I was making the same mistake over and over again, and I was getting upset that it’s not helping. At some point I decided I have to figure it [out] by myself by thinking, analysing, and understanding myself better.”
Incidentally, the book is described on the author’s site thus: ‘Jim Doty was poor, with an alcoholic father and a mother chronically depressed and paralyzed by a stroke … at twelve he wandered into a magic shop looking for a plastic thumb. Instead he met Ruth, a woman who taught him a series of exercises to ease his own suffering and manifest his greatest desires.’
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
