Aryna Sabalenka publicly apologized. In the background, a comparison to Iga Świątek
What situation exactly did the apology concern? We are talking about the words spoken after the final battle in Paris, which fell from the lips of Aryna Sabalenka. The tennis player born in Minsk clearly could not digest the loss in the Grand Slam final. Especially since she already had success at Roland Garros, her first, within reach. Ultimately, however, with a 1:0 in sets, the Belarusian lost 1:2, and the trophy in Paris was taken by the American Coco Gauff.
Aryna Sabalenka apologizes to Coco Gauff. "I'm not proud of what I did"In the final match, Sabalenka made as many as 70 unforced errors. At times, the best tennis player in the world's form, from the second set of the match onwards, was downright catastrophic. However, this should not diminish the scale of success that Gauff achieved.
And this could be read from the words that were said after the final. Sabalenka admitted at the post-match conference that "if Iga had won against me, she would have won today too", referring to the semi-final success in Paris over the Pole. In this way, the Belarusian directly treated Gauff's victory as more of her defeat than a real reason for joy for the American.
However, the time for reflection came for Sabalenka. After a dozen or so days, but still.
- It was just completely unprofessional of me. I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said. You know, we all make mistakes. I'm just a human being who is still learning about life. I think we all have those days when we lose control. The difference between me and the world is that the world is watching. I got a lot more hate for what I did than most people. But I also want to say: I spoke to Coco, not right away, but recently. I wanted to apologize and make sure she knows that she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her. I never meant to attack her. I was very emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I'm not proud of what I did - the words of the WTA ranking leader are quoted by the famous account "The Tennis Letter" on X.
It is worth adding that the victory in the semi-final over Świątek was the first defeat of the Polish woman in the capital of France - in a Grand Slam event - since the 2022 edition. Many indicated that it would be Sabalenka, by defeating the "Queen of Paris", who would reach for the final triumph.
It is possible that the interested party thought so too. However, one must also be able to respect the opponent's success, which the Belarusian tennis player seems to have understood after some time.
- It took me some time to come back to it, to approach it with open eyes and understand. I realized a lot about myself. Why did I lose so many finals? I was still so emotional. I also learned a lot. First of all, one thing: I am the one who always treats my opponents with great respect, regardless of whether I win or lose. Without this respect, I wouldn't be where I am today. It was a difficult but very important lesson for me - Sabalenka added.
The words spoken by the WTA world leader were uttered during the tournament in Berlin. Interestingly, Magdalena Fręch caused a big surprise "in plus" at the opening of this event. The Pole eliminated Mirra Andreyeva, bringing the sensational teenager to a boil on the court .
The Łódź player won the last set in impressive style, beating her opponent 6-0.
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