Aryna Sabalenka has “no plan B” and her confidence levels are worryingly low following her China Open exit.

That is according to Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, who is very concerned about what she is seeing from the world No 2 on court right now.

It is now nine tournaments and counting since four-time major winner Sabalenka last won a title, with her Miami Open triumph the last time she lifted some silverware.

In that time, she has gone from being world No 1, to being comfortably behind Elena Rybakina and having a slamless year for the first time since 2023.

Question marks have been raised about Sabalenka’s on-court mentality and how her angry outbursts may be hurting her game. Now, former women’s No 1 doubles player Stubbs has painted a bleak picture for the 28-year-old.

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The Australian contrasted Sabalenka with two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff, who is known for her fighting spirit and willingness to grind out victories.

She said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, “Sabalenka is getting pissy pants as well, like her nerve endings are gone. Like she’s just lit them on fire, and she doesn’t know how to bring it back anymore.

“And her confidence level is so low. She doesn’t show it in a way like some people would. Kind of pouty, like I don’t know what to do kind of thing.

“Sabalenka just gets angry and just looks at her player’s box like, ‘Fix this for me’. And you’re just like, it’s not possible. It’s a different sort of anger or a different sort of level of frustration that she is showing on the court.

“And she has no game plan B. The difference with Coco is she could be hitting 20 double faults, not making a forehand, and she will try and find a way and play ugly. I mean, she’s the epitome of Brad Gilbert’s book, Winning Ugly.

“And so she will try and figure out a way to win even if her game A isn’t there. She’ll go to game plan C, D, E, F if she needs to. But Sabalenka doesn’t have game plan B at all.”

Her co-host Caitlin Thompson pointed out that Sabalenka has shown mental fortitude in the past, particularly when she got over her inability to make it past a semi-final and exponentially improved her formerly wayward serve.

But Stubbs is clearly concerned that Sabalenka won’t get out of this rut anytime soon.