Aryna Sabalenka's bid for a third consecutive U.S. Open title ended in a fiery display of frustration on Saturday, as she lost to Elena Rybakina in the final and subsequently directed expletives at a cameraman.
After falling to Rybakina in three sets, with a final score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, Sabalenka's emotions were palpable. As she sat down with her team on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, a cameraman approached, capturing her reaction. Sabalenka, visibly annoyed, told the camera operator to “f–k off.” The moment was captured on video and quickly circulated on social media.
Earlier in the match, Sabalenka was observed smashing her racket, breaking it and discarding it after a challenging second set. Throughout the latter stages of the match, she displayed signs of increasing emotional distress, including talking to herself and exhibiting frustration with her racket and body movements.
Rybakina's victory not only secured the U.S. Open title but also meant she would take over the world No. 1 ranking from Sabalenka during the tournament. Sabalenka had been vying to become the first woman since Serena Williams to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles.
During the trophy ceremony, Sabalenka acknowledged the difficulty of the moment, stating, “That’s the last thing I want to do right now is give a speech, but I’ll try my very best.”
In a post-match press conference, Sabalenka explained her outburst, saying, "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."
This marks the second Grand Slam final this year where Rybakina has defeated Sabalenka, with the previous encounter occurring at the Australian Open in January.