There was a point during Aryna Sabalenka's career where she wondered why fans would approach her and ask for an autograph.
Speaking after winning the Australian Open women's final on Saturday night, Sabalenka explained her bemusement at the time was all to do with what she thought about herself as a player.
"I always had this weird feeling that when people would come to me and ask for a signature, I would be like, 'Why are you asking for signature?'" she said.
"I'm nobody. I'm a player. I don't have a grand slam and all this stuff'."
Sabalenka's frank assessment speaks volumes for the emotional transformation she went through to achieve her breakthrough victory at the majors.
Once a player riddled with self-doubt and lacking confidence, Sabalenka learned to develop greater belief in her ability. This has helped her realise she belongs among the top echelon of players on the WTA Tour.
"I just changed how I feel. Like, I started to respect myself more," Sabalenka said.
"I started to understand that actually I'm here because I work so hard and I'm actually a good player.
"Just having this understanding that I'm a good player [means] I can handle a lot of emotions, a lot of things on court.
"Every time I had a tough moment on court, I was just reminding myself that I'm good enough to handle everything."
There was more than just one "tough moment" during Sabalenka's tense three-set win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
The tournament fifth seed had to fight back from a set down, while in the third she nearly stumbled when she was on the cusp of victory.
Serving for the match at 5-4, Sabalenka blew three championship points. The first was with a double fault, which had been a constant thorn in her side last year.
During the 2022 season, the Belarusian led the WTA Tour standings for most double faults with a whopping 428.
When the second and third championship points emerged and disappeared just as quickly, it seemed the mental demons that had plagued Sabalenka's career were resurfacing.
But the 24-year-old found her composure when it counted, going on to clinch a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over the 22nd--seeded Kazakh.
"The last game, of course I was a little bit nervous," Sabalenka admitted.
"I kept telling myself, 'Nobody tells you that it's going to be easy, you just have to work for it, work for it until the last point'.
"That was a tough game. I'm super happy that I was able to handle all those emotions and win this one."
As a result of her win in Melbourne, Sabalenka will move to number two on the world rankings, a rise of three spots from her current standing.
She has reached as high as two previously in her career and will now sit behind only Poland's Iga Świątek on the rankings.
Becoming world number one is on Sabalenka's list of goals, but for now all she wants to do is bask in the glory of her stunning Australian Open success.
"It's the best day of my life right now," she said.
