Novak Djokovic says he will 'keep going' after US Open win
US Open finalist Aryna Sabalenka threw her tennis racket into the bin after angrily reacting to her defeat to Coco Gauff, but later asked a member of her team to retrieve it to be given away to a fan who proudly displayed the smashed up piece of equipment. The Belarussian lost 6-2, 3-6, 2-6 to the home favourite having hoped to win her second Grand Slam of the year, but her frustrations were clear for all to see in released behind-the-scenes footage.
As the controversial tape of Sabalenka returning to the dressing room emerged on social media, the 25-year-old was seen repeatedly smashing her racket onto the floor in a fit of rage before dumping the ruined equipment in a bin and continuing to storm off.
Sabalenka was visibly upset at the result, having also broken into tears on the court after allowing Gauff to come back into the match after winning the first set. However, she was later able to compose herself and give credit to Gauff for her victory, while later posing for photos with fans.
One of those supporters asked Sabalenka for a racket as a memento, but as the 2023 Australian Open winner did not have them with her as a result of the dressing room meltdown, one of the team members were forced to fish it out of the bin before giving the broken racket to the grateful fan.
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Sabalenka asking her team to retrieve the racket she smashed privately so that her fan who wanted them could have them ������ And she took a picture too ������
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Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the fan explained: “She asked a member of her team to get it for me hahahaha only players and team can go to this gym, I can’t go there. I was talking with her and I asked for a racket, and she says she broke some and I said ‘It’s ok’ and someone of her team got for me hahahaha last year I gave a Brazilian shirt to her because she always says that she wants to go to Brazil.”
The fan was unaware at the time that footage of Sabalenka’s rage had gone viral on social media, but not everyone was pleased with the video being released – as Andy Murray’s mother Judy felt that it should have remained private.
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“This footage should never have been made public,” Murray wrote on X. “A private moment in an empty training room after the disappointment of losing a Grand Slam final.”
Before being unable to hold her anger back in the dressing room, Sabalenka felt that she handled her emotions “pretty well” during the match as she congratulated Guaff on her first Major win.
“Most of my time I handled my emotions pretty well,” Sabalenka said during her on-court interview after jokingly telling her team that they were fired. “Congrats to Coco, you played unbelievable in the final.”
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