A tennis great has ripped into Aryna Sabalenka for taking some of the gloss off Madison Keys’ stunning Australian Open win by abruptly leaving the court soon after match point on Saturday night.
‘I know that she is going for a third title and emotions are running high, but it does rather take away from the moment for Madison.’
Sabalenka’s coold-down break left tennis fans divided, with commenters calling her a ‘demonstrative sore loser’ and ‘classless’, with one writing, ‘Madison Keys deserved that win AND she deserved more respect from Sabalenka.
Sabalenka was hoping to match the great Martina Hingis (1997-99) in tasting Open glory for three straight years.
‘The moment I stepped on court, I was just trying to focus on the game and things I have to do to win this match.’
Aryna Sabalenka has come under fire from a tennis legend for stealing some of the glory from Madison Keys’ incredible victory at the Australian Open on Saturday night by leaving the court abruptly shortly after match point.
No, the world. Despite giving Keys a heartfelt congrats at the net and shaking hands with the chair umpire right away after losing 6-3 2-6 7-5, 1 quickly lost her cool.
After destroying her racket beside her courtside seat and covering her face with a towel, Sabalenka stormed off the court and up the players’ tunnel to cool down.
She returned after a brief break to receive the runner-up trophy and to make the audience laugh with a heartfelt and humorous speech.
But the former world No. 5 Jo Durie was unimpressed by Sabalenka’s decision to leave center court because she felt it detracted attention from Keys at the most important time in her career.
While watching the match on Eurosport, Durie said, “It’s a shame she did that.”.
It detracts from Madison’s moment, even though I understand that she is vying for a third title and that feelings are running high. “.”.
During her cool-down break, Sabalenka was criticized by tennis fans as a “demonstrative sore loser” and “classless.” One commenter wrote, “Madison Keys deserved that win AND she deserved more respect from Sabalenka.”. This was really bad sportsmanship. “…
Some X commenters, on the other hand, strongly supported the Belarusian.
Believe that those who criticize Sabalenka are pitiful. An elite competitor, she smashed her racquet in frustration after losing a very close Grand Slam final. She gave her opponent a hug and spoke politely. “Give her a break and get over it, people,” someone wrote.
“Sabalenka clearly gave permission to be p***ed off.”. The goal of the three-peat is to achieve something historic. top level of athletics. It was going to be an emotional match. Although visibly irritated, he was polite both during the presentation and on the net. Another said, “Let them be human.”.
Following the match, the three-time grand slam champion gave an explanation for her outburst.
“I was so close to accomplishing something crazy, so there was definitely a bit of frustration,” she remarked.
Although you are fighting while you are out there, it seems like nothing is going your way.
“All I needed to do was throw those negative feelings at the end so I could deliver a speech and not just stand there being rude.”.
I was merely attempting to be a decent person and let it go. “.”.
Sabalenka aspired to celebrate three consecutive Open titles, just like the legendary Martina Hingis (1997–99).
Only Monica Seles, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Margaret Court have accomplished the feat.
Prior to losing to Keys, Sabalenka won 20 straight games at Melbourne Park over three campaigns, and she was well aware of the historical significance of her most recent attempt.
Sabalenka stated, “I didn’t want to block those stats.”.
Anything that you attempt to block keeps getting bigger. Naturally, that was something I was considering.
I tried to concentrate on the game and what I needed to do to win this match as soon as I stepped onto the court. “.”.