ARYNA Sabalenka comments on her controversial reaction when she lost the Australian Open final after smashing her racket in frustration

Sabalenka lost to Madison Keys, 3-6, 2-6, 5-7, in a captivating meeting when the American picked up his first major trophy.

Her defeat last Saturday was Sabalenka’s second in a Grand Slam final after losing to Coco Gauff at the US Open in 2023.

She was not surprisingly frustrated after missing out on a third Australian Open title and her feelings overturned as the fight ended.

Sabalenka has now explained why she was acting as she did when Keys converted the second of her two match points to win the title.

ARYNA Sabalenka says she had to smash her racket before she held a second plate speech

After the couple embraced on the web, Sabalenka can be seen smashing his racket while Keys celebrated at Rod Laver Arena.

Fans criticized Sabalenka for her behavior after the match, with the WTA star now revealing why she acted in the way she did.

“Well, I mean there was definitely a bit of frustration because I was so close to achieving something crazy,” she said.

“When you’re out there you are fighting, but it seems that everything doesn’t go as you really want to go.

“I just needed to throw away the negative feelings at the end, just so I could give a speech, not stand there and be disrespectful.

“I just tried to let it go and be a good person; be respectful.”

The 26-year-old continued to say that she better than most people know how to handle losses and that she will be back for more in 2026.

“It’s okay, I mean, I’m the one who knows there are good victories after harsh losses,” Sabalenka said.

“So I keep working and make sure that the next time, if I get in this situation, I will play clearly better.”

When Sabalenka lost to Gauff in 2023 the US Open final, she returned the following year and took Jessica Pegula down in a row to lift the title.

The Belarus will hope for a similar comeback next year when she returns to Melbourne, in search of a third title Down Under.

ARYNA Sabalenka leaves the door open to iga swatek in the race about WTA number one

Iga Swiatek’s defeat to Madison Keys in the semi -finals made the pole out of battle for the number one world ranking.

But as Sabalenka fails to exploit Swiatek’s misfortune when she lost to Keys herself, the gorge is as small as ever as the season progresses.

Only 186 points separate the couple and Swatek is desperate after getting back on top and adding his 125 weeks as number one in the world.

Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, she has her reasonable share of points to defend over the next month or so, thanks to her victory in Doha last year.

Swatek beat Elena Rybakina in the 2024 final and will lose 1,000 points ahead of this year’s tournament.

On the other hand, Sabalenka had a much slower start to 2024, giving her the chance to gather more points this time.

Between now and end of March, Swatek will defend over 2,500 points, while Sabalenka defends less than 200.

Therefore, the likelihood that the Belarus will expand his hole at the top unless Swatek really dominates at the next four WTA 1000 tournaments.

If the couple both underperformed, it can pave the way for Gauff to reach the world’s number one for the first time as she seems to win a third WTA 1000 title after winning in Cincinnati and Beijing earlier.

Only time will show if Swatek and Gauff will take number one from Sabalenka in 2025, but it will certainly be interesting to watch the fight unfold.

Doha WTA 1000 event in 2025 will start on February 10th.

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