Sabalenka ‘sorry’ over ball boy tantrum in Beijing
Print Edition
WORLD No. 12 Aryna Sabalenka has apologized for an on-court tantrum in which she shook an empty bottle in the direction of a ball boy before tossing it on the floor.
The Belarusian faced criticism after footage of the episode during her quarterfinal defeat to Wang Qiang at the China Open in early October was shared widely on social media.
But following a winning start at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, south China’s Guangdong Province, the 20-year-old vowed to “never do it again.”
“Well, I’m so sorry,” she said at her post-match press conference after beating Australia’s 9th seed Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-4. “It was emotional and I was losing my mind and after that I saw it on Twitter and I was just like ‘Oh my god, what did you mean?’
“I didn’t even remember this, and I was just like ‘Wow, I’m sorry for this guy.’”
The controversy came ahead of a similar incident in which Spain’s Fernando Verdasco ranted at a ball boy for not bringing his sweaty towel quickly enough during a semifinal defeat by Yoshihito Nishioka at the Shenzhen Open.
Footage went viral on social media and saw Verdasco heavily criticized.
Judy Murray, the former British Fed Cup captain and mother of three-time Grand Slam winner Andy, tweeted: “What about a rule that makes players get their own towels?”
Following Sabalenka’s actions in Beijing, Anne Keothavong, Britain’s Fed Cup captain, tweeted: “I don’t care how good a tennis player you are but this type of behavior needs to STOP.”
An apologetic Sabalenka said, “It was bad of me and now I will never do it again, and I will try and be nice to the ball boys, even if they’re sometimes so slow!
“They’re just small kids, and you can’t do anything to them. Yeah, I’m so sorry for that guy and hopefully he’s not pissed with me,” the 12th seed said.
In yesterday’s second singles match, fourth seed Elise Mertens of Belgium comfortably beat Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit, the tenth seed, 6-3, 6-1.
Now in its fourth year the Elite Trophy features 12 players ranked roughly from 9 to 20. This year’s total prize money is US$2.35 million across the singles and doubles tournaments.
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