She may be a fan favourite, but Aryna Sabalenka is not exactly a media favourite right now.
World No. 1 has already had two heated moments with journalists at the US Open. On court, she continues to dominate. Sabalenka reached the third round after defeating Polina Iatchenko 6-1, 6-1 in just 53 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It seems journalists cannot stop getting under her skin. It started after her first-round win against Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-4. During her press conference, a journalist asked Sabalenka, In the week leading up to the Open, there are so many events and everything, it can kind of be physically draining.
“On top of being the top seed here and one of the favorites, how do you balance the energy, especially with the energy that New York brings into your tennis? Then looking over the next two weeks, how do you kind of maintain a steady level with your energy?”
The 28-year-old did not seem happy with the question and pushed back, asking why the journalist thought she was not focused on tennis during the week before the tournament.
After her second-round win, a journalist asked the same question, and she explained, “Parties, fun. Like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? What kind of question is that?
“Just because I posted, like, some activities with brands, and you think that I’ve been partying, not training? The question, like, what is that?”
The Journalist responded and said, I’m saying that there are a lot of events and things like that. I’m not saying you go to the parties”.
The media room quickly turned into a back-and-forth battle between Sabalenka and the journalist. The journalist continued asking questions about her activities away from the tennis court, while Sabalenka became more frustrated and repeatedly shut down the questions by saying, “Next question.”
The World No. 1 clearly felt that the questions suggested she was not serious about her tennis because of her busy schedule and appearances before the US Open. As the exchange became more tense, Sabalenka ended it with a sharp response: “Oh, yeah, I wasn’t serious before that. Next question. Think before you say stuff.”
