It has been revealed that Aryna Sabalenka retrieved the racket that she smashed up in a rage for a fan following her defeat in the US Open final.
New World No. 1 Sabalenka has a lot to celebrate about her time at the last Grand Slam of the year in New York. During the tournament, she dethroned Iga Swiatek to rise to the top of the WTA Rankings for the first time in her career.
Moreover, the Belarusian made her maiden final at Flushing Meadows but was ultimately defeated by home favorite Coco Gauff, who won the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Despite these achievements, it initially seemed as though the Australian Open champion still had some anger to vent once the victory ceremony was over, as footage emerged of Sabalenka smashing up her racket before throwing it in the bin.
However, some fans have now accused the 25-year-old of faking the incident after another clip was shared on social media which showed the video from a wider angle. In this version, camera crews can be seen in the gym room with Sabalenka as she destroys the racket. They were reportedly from Netflix and were filming the second series of 'Break Point', a docu-series that follows top-ranked tennis players as they compete at tournaments.
Although this led several fans to believe the event was scripted, a sweet moment has also come out of the whole drama, as it has also been revealed that Sabalenka asked her team to retrieve the broken racket after one of her fans wanted it.
"Sabalenka smashing her racket after yesterday’s final loss to Coco Gauff in private (respect for doing it for the joy of it).
Sabalenka asking her team to retrieve the racket she smashed privately.. so that her fan who wanted them could have them," wrote one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sabalenka smashing her racket after yesterday’s final loss to Coco Gauff in private (respect for doing it for the joy of it). Sabalenka asking her team to retrieve the racket she smashed privately.. so that her fan who wanted them could have them. #USOpen
