SABALENKA SMASHES RACQUET AND SWEARS AFTER US OPEN FINAL LOSS

Aryna Sabalenka lost the US Open final to Elena Rybakina 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, having already lost the world number one ranking before the match. In the first set, after Rybakina broke to lead 3-2, Sabalenka hit a ball into the crowd, which ESPN commentators said struck a camera near a cameraman. After Rybakina sealed the win, Sabalenka embraced her before smashing her racquet on returning to her chair. When a television camera operator moved closer to film her reaction, Sabalenka waved them away and swore at them. She was asked about both incidents at her post-match press conference.

Sabalenka told reporters it was difficult to control her emotions after losing a Grand Slam final while attempting to win a third consecutive US Open title. She said releasing her frustration outwardly was better than holding it in, as she might otherwise have said something she regretted. The ball she hit into the crowd did not strike anyone. The moment drew comparison with Novak Djokovic's disqualification from the 2020 US Open, when he accidentally hit a line judge in the throat with a ball.

Her fitness coach, Jason Stacy, said in an April 2024 interview on the Lead on Purpose with James Laughlin podcast that Sabalenka's team had learned to accept, and sometimes encourage, such emotional moments. He explained that Sabalenka was better off releasing her emotions than bottling them up, recalling occasions when she would scream. Rybakina's win secured her the US Open title, ending Sabalenka's bid to win the tournament for a third consecutive year. Sabalenka's press conference remarks were her only public comments on the ball and racquet incidents at the time of writing.