- Sabalenka broke her racket after losing the final in three sets
- He regained his composure and gave a funny speech afterwards.
Big tennis has come down to Aryna Sabalenka for taking some of the shine off Madison Keys' impressive Australian Open victory by abruptly walking off the court shortly after teeing off on Saturday night.
The world No. 1 was left devastated after losing 6-3 2-6 7-5, and although she warmly congratulated the braces in the net and shook hands with the referee immediately afterwards, she soon completely lost her composure.
Sabalenka smashed her racquet into pieces next to her court seat, then sat with a towel over her head to hide her face before jumping off the court and up the players' tunnel to cool down.
The short break worked and he returned to draw several laughs from the crowd in a sincere and funny speech while receiving the runner-up trophy.
However, former world number 5 Jo Durie was left unimpressed by Sabalenka's decision to vacate the center court, believing the surprising act targeted the keys during the biggest moment of her career.
“It's a shame he did that,” Durie told viewers of Eurosport's coverage of the match.
Aryna Sabalenka is shown abruptly leaving court before the trophy presentation ceremony after the Australian Open women's singles final on Saturday
The devastated world No.1 tried to hide his emotions under a towel after congratulating Madison Keys on her underdog win
Sabalenka completely lost her composure immediately after the loss, but recovered to stir up the crowd with an elegant speech once she returned to the court.
“I know she's going for a third title and the emotions are running, but it kind of takes away from the moment for Madison.”
Sabalenka's cutback layoff left tennis fans divided, with commentators calling her a “demonstrative loser” and “classless” with one writing, “Madison Keys deserved that win and she deserved more respect for Sabalenka.” .This was very poor sportsmanship.
However, other commentators on X backed the Belarusian to the hilt.
'Think about how the people who criticize Sabalenka are pathetic. She is an elite competitor who lost a very close Grand Slam final, in her disappointment she broke her racket. She hugged her opponent and gave a kind speech. Get over it folks and give it a break,' one wrote.
'Sabalenka is absolutely allowed to be put in their sight. Aiming for something historic with the 3-tat. The highest level of sport. An unreal match and it was going to be emotional. Clearly frustrated but he was gracious online and gracious in presentation. Let them be human,' another added.
The three-time Grand Slam champion explained the reason for his outburst after the match.
“There was definitely a little bit of frustration because I was so close to accomplishing something crazy,” he said.
The devastated Belarusian explained that his outburst was about trying to exorcise his negative emotions so he could clear his head and address the fans at Rod Laver Arena
'When you're out there, you're fighting, but it seems like everything isn't going the way you really want to go.
'I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand up to be disrespectful.
“I was just trying to let it go and be a good person.”
Sabalenka hoped to coincide with the great Martina Hingis (1997-99) in the tasting of open glory for three consecutive years.
The only others to have achieved the feat are Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.
Sabalenka, who was well aware of the historical significance of her latest attempt, won 20 consecutive matches at Melbourne Park in three seasons before falling at the Keys.
“I didn't want to block those statistics,” Sabalenka said.
'When you try to block something, it gets bigger and bigger. Of course, I was thinking about that.
“The moment I got on the court, I was just trying to focus on the game and the things I have to do to win this game.”