Devastated Aryna Sabalenka’s tense exchange to cameraman after US Open final loss
Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka lost her cool and lost her US Open title during yesterday's final match against Elena Rybakina at Flushing Meadows yesterday.
We had plenty of memorable moments at Wimbledon earlier in the summer including Coco Gauff's four-minute deadline, and it's been no different in New York for another grand slam.
Although Sabalenka has been top of the women's rankings for an incredible 99 weeks, she lost out to Naomi Osaka in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, and there was more heartbreak for her in the final against Kazakhstan-born Rybakina.
Having already lost her world number one ranking due to Ryabinka's progression, Sabalenka went down 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday (13 September), in a fiery contest, and she clearly wasn't too happy with the actions of one cameraman moments after her defeat was confirmed, as she told him to 'f off'.
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The 28-year-old had already been given a warning by the umpire earlier in the match after hitting a ball away, while she also smashed her own racket during the final match.
However, once the match was done, she congratulated Ryabinka on her performance and gave her a hug at the net.
No matter what the result in tennis, the players are always expected to attend their press conference, unless they are Serena Williams apparently, even if Sabalenka wanted to be literally anywhere else.
Speaking on court during the subsequent ceremony, Sabalenka said: “The last thing I want to do right now is give a speech.
“Obviously I am disappointed but I want to congratulate Elena on an incredible year, an incredible result. Well deserved, enjoy it, have fun tonight and tomorrow.
“And have fun until the end of the year, so I can win some titles.
“I wish I could have performed a little bit better. But I guess next year…”
She also spoke more about her actions in the game in her post-match press conference, suggesting that it was 'really tough' to control her emotions after missing out on her third successive US open title.
The Belarusian added: “So I just wanted to let it go, because if I would hold it inside, right now or here or there on the court, I wouldn’t be able to say a word or I would just go not really nice over there.
“So I just wanted to let all of that aggression and disappointment go outside.”
Sabalenka also challenged her opponent to match her incredible run at the top of the WTA rankings, saying: "Let’s see if Elena can beat me in that. If she continues to play like that, then I’m in trouble.”
Topics: Sport
James Moorhouse