"Look, look, look, she is horrible" - French journalist in hot water as disparaging Aryna Sabalenka comments made on air

Aryna Sabalenka has set her sights on a first-ever WTA Finals title in Indian Wells, but away from the court she has received an apology after journalist Matthieu Solier made a comment on a video she was in accidentally was caught live on beIN SPORTS.

Having been recently labelled as the most marketable athlete of 2026, the Belarusian will be in a lot of videos and promotional content, as the former World No.1 has a lot of work to do away from the court being the face of many videos.

These videos are being broadcasted at the WTA Finals, with Sabalenka a key feature in a number of them. BeIN Sports were broadcasting the tournament, and they would find themselves in the midst of controversy after a costly slip-up.

A promotional package involving Sabalenka blowing a kiss to the camera stirred the controversy when Solier, not shy of sharing his thoughts on the four-time Grand Slam champion, was not impressed with Sabalenka.

"Look, look, look, she is horrible," he was heard saying. However, he was oblivious to what he had just done. His mic was still on, meaning that viewers picked up what he said with Sabalenka on screen and got a lot of negative backlash for it.

This got a lot of traction on social media and went viral pretty quickly. Florent Houzot, beIN SPORT France’s director of broadcast operations, programming and editorial, sprung into action and defused the situation.

On behalf of Solier and the broadcaster, he sent out an apology to Sabalenka. "I regret and strongly condemn the remarks made live on air this evening during the WTA Finals broadcast," he wrote. "These comments do not reflect the values of beIN SPORTS. I reaffirm our commitment to treating all athletes and contributors on our broadcasts with respect."

It has been a WTA Finals packed with controversy. Microphones have been a hot topic since Jessica Pegula's rant on Mirra Andreeva was picked up and went viral. Unaware that the audio was being gathered at the side of the court, all her comments directed at the 19-year-old Russian were heard in a huge blunder by the WTA, failing to make players aware of this.

With the tennis having begun in California, all attention is back on the action. Sabalenka got off to a tremendous start in her quest to win her first WTA title since the Miami Open, narrowly defeating Karolina Muchova 7-6(2), 7-5.

She is out ahead alongside Mirra Andreeva in Group B, and those two will clash in a tantalising contest. The winner will be in a great position to qualify for the semi-finals.

Sabalenka has featured in the last five editions and has advanced from the round robin phase every time aside from her debut campaign. She reached the final in 2022 and 2025, losing out to Caroline Garica and Elena Rybakina in those respected years.

With the World No.1 out of action due to illness, Sabalenka is now questionably the favourite to win the title for the very first time. She will look to pounce at this opportunity. After the Andreeva clash, Sabalenka will take on Elina Svitolina in her final round robin contest. That could be make or break for both players depending on the next set of results.