World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka got here throughout a sore loser — within the eyes of many analysts — after her loss to Coco Gauff within the French Open ultimate.
Sabalenka blamed her loss on the “horrible situations” in Paris and undermined Gauff’s win throughout her information convention by suggesting that the American obtained fortunate with a few of her mistimed photographs.
“She was hitting the ball from the body. By some means, magically, the ball lands within the court docket. It felt like a joke,” she had stated. To make issues worse, Sabalenka felt Iga Swiatek, whom she beat within the semifinal, would have defeated Gauff in the event that they met within the championship spherical.
The feedback rubbed Gauff the improper manner. The 21-year-old stated Sabalenka’s remarks weren’t “honest” as she defeated Swiatek throughout their earlier encounter within the semifinal of the Madrid Open.
Now that the mud has settled, Sabalenka regrets her feedback. Forward of this week’s Berlin Open, she issued an apology to Gauff.
“It was simply fully unprofessional of me. I let my feelings get the higher of me. I completely remorse what I stated again then,” she advised EuroSport Germany. “I needed to apologize and ensure she knew she completely deserved to win the match and that I respect her. I by no means supposed to assault her. I used to be tremendous emotional and never very good at that press convention.”
Whereas it was a cultured gesture by Sabalenka, she could also be choosing up the infamous behavior of overlooking her challengers. She admittedly underestimated Madison Keys on the 2025 Australian Open, the place the latter was an enormous underdog getting into the ultimate. Keys would proceed to stun Sabalenka to say her first profession main.
Gauff was equally the underdog getting into the Roland-Garros ultimate in opposition to Sabalenka, particularly after shedding to her within the Madrid Open ultimate within the lead as much as the occasion. An analogous script unfolded as Gauff dropped the primary set earlier than rallying to win the match.
Sabalenka and Gauff might be on a collision course once more at subsequent month’s Wimbledon, a serious that neither girl has gained.
