The Belarusian is taking off on a new journey with the former coach of Elise Mertens and Angelique Kerber Aryna Sabalenka has switched coaches.

The Belarusian, who had worked with Dmitry Tursonov off and on since the middle of 2018, but apparently the time for Sabalenka to move on has come.

According to WTA Insider the World No.11 has hired Dieter Kindlman, the former coach of Elise Mertens and Angelique Kerber, and a former hitting partner of Maria Sharapova.

Aryna Sabalenka now working with Dieter Kindlmann, who hopes to join her soon in the US.

Kindlmann used to work with Sabalenka’s doubles partner, Elise Mertens.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 11, 2020

Sabalenka is currently in the process of resuming her season at the Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky. On Monday she got past Madison Brengle, 6-1 6-7(5) 6-2.

With eight Top 40 players ready to mix it up, the WTA will hit the ground running at Lexington on MondayThe big names are ready to roll at the Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Williams sisters will be joined by six other Top 40 players as the WTA holds it first tournament on American soil since the Coronavirus stopped the tour in early March.

Top-seeded Serena Williams will square off with fellow American Bernarda Pera in the first round, and she could face her sister Venus in the second round—if 40-year-old Venus Williams can get past Victoria Azarenka.

Serena says she is taking no risks when it comes to social distancing and protecting herself from the coronavirus. Five million Americans have already tested positive for Covid-19 in America.

“I’ve been a little bit of a recluse,” Williams told reporters on Saturday in a virtual press conference. “I started self-distancing before, like early March, or something.”

Williams says her own personal health has made her even more careful than she might have otherwise been.

“I don’t have full lung capacity so I’m not sure what would happen to me. I’m sure I’ll be okay but I don’t want to find out," she said. "I have like 50 masks that I travel with; I never want to be without one. So health concerned, I’m super, super careful with what I’m doing and everyone in the Serena bubble is really protected because, at the end of the day yeah it’s cool to play tennis but this is my life and this is my health, so I’ve been a little neurotic to an extent but that’s just what I have to be right now.”

Third-seeded Johanna Konta, who faces Marie Bouzkova in first-round action, is also being extra careful. The British No.1 flew to Chicago and rented a car to drive to Lexington to keep her risk of exposure low.

“I arrived in the states on Thursday,” she told Ros Satar of Britwatch Sports in a virtual press conference on Sunday. “I actually flew from London to Chicago and then we rented a car and drove from Chicago, so we are going to keep that car and actually drive it to New York, to just try to really mitigate how much time I spend in airports and airplanes, just to be as vigilant as possible with that.”

The Lexington draw also features Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Ons Jabeur, CiCi Bellis and Sloane Stephens.

Main draw begins on Monday.

American Sloane Stephens, who also is active in the WTA’s Player Council, is happy to see her peers have the opportunity to get some work as the tour begins to roll again. It could be a short season, with the Asian swing cancelled and other events in Europe also falling by the wayside.

For now, at least, the opportunity is here for those players that need the work, and want to compete.

“Being able to get the American players that are still in the states to be able to play a tournament I think it was really important,” Stephens said. “Obviously because there were two tournaments in Europe—we can’t really travel there and back—so obviously it was good to be able to play here before Cincinnati and to be able to have those jobs this week.”

See the full draw for Lexington here:

Your @TopSeedTennisKY (Lexington) draw, which features a Venus Williams v Victoria Azarenka R1 clash. 😬 pic.twitter.com/bgvGGXGtwU

— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) August 9, 2020

The former champion says that players ultimately hold the key to making the US Open Covid-freeBy Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday August 8, 2020

American Sloane Stephens hopes that tennis players and their entourages are ready to accept the important responsibilities that await them at the 2020 US Open.

The 27-year-old 2017 US Open champion talked to reporters today at a press conference ahead of the Top Seed Open in Lexington and said that even though the US Open’s protective bubble is designed to keep the coronavirus out, it’s ultimately up to the players and how much responsibility they take upon their own shoulders.

The jury is still out on whether or not tennis can handle that responsibility, Stephens says.

“My honest opinion is, I’ve said this from the very beginning, I said this on the first call we had with the USTA, that it might ultimately depend on others being responsible, and I think a lot of tennis players haven’t taken enough responsibility to take care of the other people surrounding them and the world surrounding them, so that’s been a little disappointing,” she said.

It has been a tricky summer for the sport and several top players have made the mistake of not taking the virus seriously enough. At the Adria Tour in the Balkans, World No.1 Novak Djokovic tested positive along with several other players, including Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric after holding events in Serbia and Croatia with very relaxed social distancing enforcement.

Sloane Stephens: "I guess going into the US Open they’d better have National Guard out there or something because it’s going to be a treat to see all of the crazy things that happen. But fingers crossed for a safe and COVID-free US Open" https://t.co/EJ0du4euYJ

— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) August 8, 2020

Governments played a role in the problem, as Serbia had cleared major sporting events as it relaxed its policies. It’s another example of the complicated communication that must take place between the tours, the players and governmental authorities. Mixed messaging, as we've seen in the United States, won't cut it.

Stephens says she’ll have her fingers crossed that things will go well in New York.

“We’re going in this bubble, we’ll just have to see,” she said. “I’m not sure what will happen, I’m not sure if people will take it seriously, but we just have to wait and see. I would hate for it to be a situation where someone actually gets sick or gets the virus or something terrible happens, but that is the reality of people not taking responsibility or doing what’s best for other people surrounding them and their co-workers and fellow players or whatever, so I guess I’ll just have to pray.”

The American says that now is the time for players to think about their peers and the world at large and stop being selfish.

“Yes, I definitely think we’ve seen a lot of [selfishness],” she said. “I guess going to the US Open they better have the National Guard out there or something, because it’s going to be a treat to see all the crazy things that happen, but fingers crossed for a safe and Covid-free US Open.”