Just In: Aryna Sabalenka ‘in trouble’ after US Open final loss that sparked meltdown
Aryna Sabalenka suffered a frustrating defeat to Elena Rybakina in the US Open final, bringing her three-year unbeaten run here to an end. The top seed came into Flushing Meadows as the two-time defending champion, hunting a third consecutive US Open title.
But she was outclassed by a clinical Rybakina, and let her disappointment show after losing 6-4 5-7 6-2, smashing her racket and then telling a camera operator to “f*** off” when they got too close after the match.
The defeat was especially annoying for Sabalenka, as she seemed to have no real answers for Rybakina, who barely blinked during the two-hour and 21-minute final. And the current world No. 1, who will drop to No. 2 on Monday, has admitted that she’s “in trouble” if her Kazakh opponent continues to play this way.
Sabalenka reflected on the staggering 99-consecutive weeks that she had spent at No. 1, and said: “I mean, I think it’s an incredible achievement, and I don’t even know how many weeks I was able to be there.
“99? Well, that’s amazing. Let’s see if Elena can beat me in that! [If] she continues to play like that, then yeah, I’m in trouble.”
Rybakina only landed 27 per cent of her first serves in set one, but she made up for it in every other area, so it didn’t matter. And her serving stats only got better as the match went on.
Her serve is amazing, the way she is able to step in and overpower you on court, and especially if it’s a US Open court where it’s super fast, definitely huge advantage for her. A lot of things makes her dangerous,” Sabalenka explained, having faced it on the other side of the net.
The 2024 and 2025 champion in Flushing Meadows also addressed smashing her racket immediately after the match, and admitted that she had to get some frustrations out before the trophy presentation.
Sabalenka added: “It’s really tough to control your emotions when you lose in the final of the Grand Slam and when you were trying to go for three-peat. So I just wanted to let it go, because if I would hold it inside, right now or here or there on the court, I wouldn’t be able to say a word or I would just go not really nice over there.
“So I just wanted to let all of that aggression and disappointment go outside.”
