Sabalenka regrets 'completely unprofessional' Paris final remarks
Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka plays a backhand return against US Coco Gauff during their women's singles final tennis match on day 14 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex. Jon Buckle/PA Wire/dpa
World number one Aryna Sabalenka has again apologised for controversial remarks after losing the recent French Open final against Coco Gauff, naming her behaviour "completely unprofessional."
Gauff won the June 7 final at Roland Garros in three sets, and Sabalenka told reporters post-match that Gauff didn't win because she had played well but rather because of her own mistakes.
Advertisement
Sabalenka apologised for the statements the next day, and now told Eurosport Germany at this week's Berlin Open that she "absolutely regrets" them, and has written to Gauff to apologise.
"That was just completely unprofessional of me. I let my emotions get the better of me," she said.
"I absolutely regret what I said back then. You know, we all make mistakes. I'm just a human being who's still learning in life.
"I think we all have those days when we lose control. The difference with me is, the world is watching. I get a lot more hate for what I did than other people."
Advertisement
Sabalenka and Gauff are both playing in Berlin and could meet in the final of the tune-up event for Wimbledon which starts on June 30.
The star-studded Berlin field boasts nine players from the top 10 in the rankings.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stars align as Raducanu pairs up with Alcaraz at US Open mixed doubles
There will be a sprinkling of stardust at the US Open mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz partnering the British women's No 1, Emma Raducanu, in an event many top players have decided to give a try for the first time. Jannik Sinner will be with the world No 9, Emma Navarro, while the British men's No 1, Jack Draper, will partner the Olympic women's singles champion, Zheng Qinwen. Novak Djokovic has agreed to play with his Serbian compatriot Olga Danilovic. The rush of big names comes after the US Open moved the mixed doubles to the qualifying week, with matches being played on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong courts on 19 August and 20 August. Advertisement Related: Sabalenka writes apology to Gauff for 'unprofessional' comments after French Open final loss The scoring system has been changed, with sets being played to four games. There will be a sudden-death deuce and a tie-break at 4-4, with a 10-point tie-break instead of the third set. The final will be the same, but with six-game sets and the winners will walk away with $1m (£740,000) – an increase of $800,000 from 2024. Eight pairs have earned entry based on their combined singles ranking, with the other eight pairs decided by the US Open's wildcard committee. That has caused controversy among some doubles specialists, but Lew Sherr, the US Tennis Association's CEO, said the new format allowed the world's best men and women to compete with and against one another. 'Seeing the teams that have already put their names on the entry list makes us all incredibly excited,' he said. 'It shows that the players are behind what we are trying to do and we know that the fans will love it.' The tennis power couple Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa will compete together, but the Australia No 1, Alex de Minaur, said he and his British fiancee, Katie Boulter, had not been invited. 'We are definitely keen to play if they allow us to do so.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Aryna Sabalenka says she apologized to Coco Gauff for downplaying her French Open win: 'Totally unprofessional of me'
Aryna Sabalenka says that she has apologized to Coco Gauff for her post-match comments downplaying Gauff's French Open final victory. Sabalenka spoke about her apology with Eurosport Germany for an interview published Tuesday, telling the publication that she "let my emotions get the better of me." She also lamented the "hate" she received in backlash to her comments. "It was just totally unprofessional of me," Sabalenka said, per Reuters translation. "I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said back then. "We all make mistakes. I'm only human and I'm still learning in life. We all have those days when we lose control. "The difference with me is that the world watches me do it, I get a lot more hate afterwards for what I did than other people." Advertisement Gauff defeated Sabalenka on June 7 in the French Open final. The win marked the second Grand Slam victory for Gauff and the second time she'd defeated Sabalenka in a Grand Slam final. Gauff previously beat Sabalenka for the US Open title in 2023. What Sabalenka initially said After Gauff's French Open win, Sabalenka downplayed the victory in her post-match news conference while attributing it to her own mistakes. She also suggested that Iga Świątek would have defeated Gauff had Świątek advanced to the final. "It was really, honestly, the worst tennis I've played in the last, I don't know, how many months," Sabalenka said on June 7. "The conditions were terrible, and she simply was better in these conditions than me. I think it was the worst final I ever played." "She won the match — not because she played incredible — just because I made all of those mistakes. ... "I don't know. If Iga would [beat] me another day, I think she would go out today and get the win." Sabalenka advanced to the final with a semifinal win over Świątek. She committed 70 unforced errors in the final against Gauff. Coco Gauff, right, defeated Aryna Sabalenka on June 7 in the French Open final. (Photo by Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images) (DeFodi Images via Getty Images) Gauff: 'I don't think that's a fair thing to say' Gauff responded to Sabalenka's comments in her own post-match news conference, telling reporters that "I don't think that's a fair thing to say." "I don't agree with that," Gauff said. "I'm here sitting here. Last time I played — no [shade] to Iga or anything — but I played her and I won in straight sets. "I don't think that's a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen. Honestly, the way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favorite to win. I think she was the best person I could have played in the final, her being No. 1 in the world, she was the best person to play." Advertisement A day later, Sabalenka addressed her comments in an Instagram post declaring that Gauff was "the better player yesterday" and that she earned the French Open title. 'Yesterday was a tough one,' Sabalenka wrote. 'Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win. She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned. ... "I didn't play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect." Sabalenka's post did not include an apology. She told Eurosport on Tuesday that she has since contacted Gauff personally to apologize. "I wanted to apologize and make sure that she knows that she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her. I never intended to attack her," Sabalenka said. "I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I'm not necessarily grateful for what I did. "It took me a while to look at it again, to go into it with my eyes open and to understand. I realized a lot about myself."
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Alcaraz Brings Ibiza Sun To Queen's Club In First Round Win
Carlos Alcaraz is certainly a good advert for the power of R and R in Ibiza. He opened his 2025 grass court campaign at Queen's Club by beating lucky loser Adam Walton 6-4, 7-6 (4). Alcaraz's original opponent, compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, withdrew with illness just hours before the match. The Australian used the element of surprise to his advantage in an encounter that topped 100 minutes. The top seed sparkled sporadically in a tough two-setter with an opponent who just refused to fade away. Alcaraz wore his lucky black and white top from the French Open in temperatures that challenged the Balearic Islands for blistering heat if not beaches. There was at least one medical incident in the crowd during Jack Draper's victory that preceded this match. The 26-year-old from Brisbane stayed solid on his serve as the first six games were shared. Alcaraz pounced in the seventh, stepping into the ball and upping the intensity to force the break as his groundstrokes went through the gears and burnt the grass. The Spaniard produced some classic drop shots and touch, mixed in with transition rust after a clay-court swing that finished with that epic win over Jannik Sinner in Paris. He eventually broke with his third opportunity and the set was done. Walton wasn't going anywhere though. The Queenslander has been active on the Challenger Tour and had a head start on grass after taking Dan Evans to three sets at the Libema Open last week. He has also claimed a Wimbledon first-round win over Federico Coria in 2024 and was comfortable on the natural surface. Walton even threatened to take the match all the way as Alcaraz served at 4-5 and 15-40. The five-time major champion rediscovered his serve and precision at the right time to push through a tiebreak 7-4 and claim a place in the last 16. Alcaraz won the Queen's title in 2023 and within a month was lifting the Wimbledon trophy after an epic five-set tussle with Novak Djokovic. Twelve months later, he defended the title with a more emphatic straight sets win over Djokovic. The Murcia man has now found a love of grass although his free time choices between the clay and grass season have raised some eyebrows and voices among his team. Alcaraz's 72-hour 'Ibiza swing' is now a fixture after he temporarily relocated there in 2023 following his French Open semifinal collapse against the Serb. "I made the most of it because I knew I might not get another three days like that. When I got back, of course, I won Queen's and Wimbledon. I'm not saying partying helped me win, but taking that time off was good for me,' Alcaraz said in his Netflix documentary which aired in May. In 2024, Alcaraz returned with his brother and friends after his first Roland Garros triumph over Alexander Zverev. Agent Albert Molina Lopez and coach Juan Carlos Ferrero were not totally on board with this downtime and their charge duly lost in the second round at Queen's to Draper. The My Way docuseries was a fascinating insight into a player who could achieve anything he wanted. The question left hanging was how much he wanted it. It appears suboptimal to ask when the man in question has won five major finals and seven ATP Masters 1000 events. Ferrero was more forgiving of the third instalment of the Ibiza trilogy after the draining near six-hour epic against Sinner. He told his charge to go and enjoy himself, but to remember his status as a tennis player. Alcaraz has spoken up about the ever-increasing schedule of the ATP Tour, at one point suggesting that 'they are trying to kill us in some way.' With the tough love of Ferrero, it's a course that requires dedication to ensure the Spanish Armada doesn't drift off course when it hasn't got its guns facing in the right direction. The world No. 1 now faces fellow countryman Jaume Munar in the last 16. Munar beat him at the Andalucian Open in 2021 and has some form on the green patch, beating John Isner at Wimbledon in 2023 and taking Cameron Norrie to five sets the previous year. The Wimbledon champion thanked London in his post-match interview. The heat is on but he looks chilled enough to deal with anything right now. Thirty slams? Better to enjoy the moment as most 22-year-olds do.
