Elena Rybakina’s fans criticized a reporter after a conversation about the New York Yankees at the U.S. Open, with some calling the question “dumb.”
Rybakina’s latest outing came on Monday in the fourth round, where she recorded a 6-1, 6-4 win over Naomi Osaka. After the match, she found herself at the center of attention after mistakenly referring to the New York Yankees as a basketball team.
During the news conference, when a reporter asked her about her choice to wear a Yankees cap and whether it had any connection to the local fans, Rybakina responded:
“I can’t say I’m following a lot basketball, but I definitely watch sometimes. For me, it’s just a hat which I like 😂. Nothing very special about it.”
The exchange quickly circulated online, with Rybakina’s fans turning their attention to the reporter. One fan on X called the question “legitimately dumb”:
“People wear Yankees caps in every corner of the earth. Asking if there’s a story behind it counts as a legitimately dumb question.”
Another fan jokingly defended Rybakina’s answer:
Criticizing the reporter for focusing on the cap rather than tennis, another user wrote:
Along similar lines, a few other fans chimed in:
Elena Rybakina is set to face Zheng Qinwen in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Elena Rybakina weighed in on her fourth-round victory at the US Open
After beating Naomi Osaka in the fourth round at the U.S. Open, Elena Rybakina spoke at the postmatch news conference about her performance and also reflected on how her left ankle and Achilles tendon injury, sustained at the Cincinnati Open, affected her preparation.
“Everything was going my way. Catched some lines, was playing really deep, and, yeah, I’m happy. As I said, a lot of things worked today for me. Preparation wasn’t that great. Of course, I was not playing for seven days, and I couldn’t do much in the gym, movement-wise. So, we had to really go day by day. And it’s an amazing progress, and I’m really glad how everything worked out,” Rybakina said.
She added:
“As I said before, we didn’t even know if I’m going to be able to play or not. And, yeah, I have a great team, also good doctor on the phone all the time. So, I’m very happy how everything went, and for now I’ve been playing can say that all the matches were amazing. But, of course, today one of the best matches I played.”
Before the U.S. Open, Elena Rybakina competed at the Cincinnati Open, where she retired from her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek due to her left ankle and Achilles injury.
