“Thank you guys for the advice" - Aryna Sabalenka disregards critics surrounding 'attitude' as she enjoys time by the pool

Aryna Sabalenka is distancing herself from tennis following another frustrating setback at Wimbledon. Her quest of winning a first Wimbledon title was halted for at least another year following her loss to Naomi Osaka. Choosing to vacation by the pool side, she has shut down critics over her time spent on TikTok, thanking them for the 'advice.'

The Belarusian has come through a very tumultuous time on court. A quarter-final defeat to Diana Shnadier at Roland Garros comes off the back of a couple of disappointing ventures in the WTA 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome. She lost the last 10 games after having the chance to serve it out, being bageled in destructive fashion.

Another bagel was in store at the Berlin Ladies Open where Jessica Pegula stormed clear in the latter stages. Her preparation was hampered for Wimbledon, but she got through the early stages with no qualm.

She would face Osaka for the fourth time this year at Wimbledon in the last-16. She has not lost to the four-time Grand Slam champion since 2018. This would be changed. Osaka was brilliant in the first set before Sabalenka managed to find some form in the second set. It went to a tiebreak in which Osaka showed her class in a brilliant win that saw her progress to the quarter-final at SW19 for the very first time.

Sabalenka was devastated in her press conference following the match. "Ah, this question guys. Let's just look at the rankings. By now I am world No. 1. Level-wise today I wasn't world No. 1," Sabalenka said. "Yesterday I was world No. 1. I feel like I just... I don't even want to think about ranking at this point. I just want to go get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape."

That is exactly what Sabalenka has been doing, enjoying herself in good company as she continues to post on her TikTok page amid an influx of criticism online around her use over focusing on tennis.

“Waking up to comments that say I care more about tiktok than tennis, that I don’t deserve to be world number one and that I need to fix my attitude,” she wrote while chilling by the pool somewhere sunny. The caption added: “Thank you guys for the advice!”

She then posted another video with her companion drinking cocktails while playfully having fun in the pool together. It is a much-needed switch-off from tennis as Sabalenka enjoys herself ahead of a big period in the year. This was captioned by saying: “My version of therapy.”

Her World No.1 status could have already been under threat if Elena Rybakina did not suffer a dip in level around the same time. Sabalenka will be focusing on her upcoming US Open title defence where she targets a third Grand Slam triumph on the spin at Flushing Meadows. If she does not, it will be the first year since 2022 that Sabalenka does not win a Grand Slam title.