Cruel coaches should get out of tennis: Sabalenka
She is world No.1, a three-time Grand Slam winner and has banked career earnings of about $55 million but Aryna Sabalenka has not forgotten the hard times.
The Belarus star, who has accumulated 20 tour titles along the way, had just eased to a 6-2 6-3 win over Olga Danilovic, of Serbia, to reach the fourth round of the French Open, when she decided to settle some old scores in her post-match media conference.
She called out some of her former coaches, who, she said, constantly put her down and told her she would not make the grade.
From the summit of the women's game, she delivered a meaty slap-down of her own, saying there is no place for cruel, overbearing coaches in the sport.
"It's not about pushing me too hard. I've always been quite motivated and they didn't have to push me," she said.
"But I have heard a lot. Saying I'm not smart enough, that I'm stupid, and I'll never make it, and I don't have anything to make it to the top."
Sabalenka, who has won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024, along with the US Open in 2024, had her own method of dealing with such criticism. "I was just laughing and saying 'we'll see'," she said.
"I guess I want to send a quick message to them to quit their job, because honestly, I think they know nothing and they better quit just to save other players," she said.
Meanwhile defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her chase for a fifth French Open title by remaining cool at a steamy Roland Garros to overcome Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5 to reach the fourth round.
But the Pole had to navigate a second set lasting 1 hour, 16 minutes, yelling in relief after winning on her second match point.
"I'm just happy that I was super solid in that last game and did not give her any free points," said Swiatek.
"She went for it, and it was a great match. We both played nice and I'm happy with my performance."
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4, while 16the seed Amanda Anisimova and Liudmila Samsonova also advanced.
With agencies
She is world No.1, a three-time Grand Slam winner and has banked career earnings of about $55 million but Aryna Sabalenka has not forgotten the hard times.
The Belarus star, who has accumulated 20 tour titles along the way, had just eased to a 6-2 6-3 win over Olga Danilovic, of Serbia, to reach the fourth round of the French Open, when she decided to settle some old scores in her post-match media conference.
She called out some of her former coaches, who, she said, constantly put her down and told her she would not make the grade.
From the summit of the women's game, she delivered a meaty slap-down of her own, saying there is no place for cruel, overbearing coaches in the sport.
"It's not about pushing me too hard. I've always been quite motivated and they didn't have to push me," she said.
"But I have heard a lot. Saying I'm not smart enough, that I'm stupid, and I'll never make it, and I don't have anything to make it to the top."
Sabalenka, who has won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024, along with the US Open in 2024, had her own method of dealing with such criticism. "I was just laughing and saying 'we'll see'," she said.
"I guess I want to send a quick message to them to quit their job, because honestly, I think they know nothing and they better quit just to save other players," she said.
Meanwhile defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her chase for a fifth French Open title by remaining cool at a steamy Roland Garros to overcome Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5 to reach the fourth round.
But the Pole had to navigate a second set lasting 1 hour, 16 minutes, yelling in relief after winning on her second match point.
"I'm just happy that I was super solid in that last game and did not give her any free points," said Swiatek.
"She went for it, and it was a great match. We both played nice and I'm happy with my performance."
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4, while 16the seed Amanda Anisimova and Liudmila Samsonova also advanced.
With agencies
She is world No.1, a three-time Grand Slam winner and has banked career earnings of about $55 million but Aryna Sabalenka has not forgotten the hard times.
The Belarus star, who has accumulated 20 tour titles along the way, had just eased to a 6-2 6-3 win over Olga Danilovic, of Serbia, to reach the fourth round of the French Open, when she decided to settle some old scores in her post-match media conference.
She called out some of her former coaches, who, she said, constantly put her down and told her she would not make the grade.
From the summit of the women's game, she delivered a meaty slap-down of her own, saying there is no place for cruel, overbearing coaches in the sport.
"It's not about pushing me too hard. I've always been quite motivated and they didn't have to push me," she said.
"But I have heard a lot. Saying I'm not smart enough, that I'm stupid, and I'll never make it, and I don't have anything to make it to the top."
Sabalenka, who has won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024, along with the US Open in 2024, had her own method of dealing with such criticism. "I was just laughing and saying 'we'll see'," she said.
"I guess I want to send a quick message to them to quit their job, because honestly, I think they know nothing and they better quit just to save other players," she said.
Meanwhile defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her chase for a fifth French Open title by remaining cool at a steamy Roland Garros to overcome Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5 to reach the fourth round.
But the Pole had to navigate a second set lasting 1 hour, 16 minutes, yelling in relief after winning on her second match point.
"I'm just happy that I was super solid in that last game and did not give her any free points," said Swiatek.
"She went for it, and it was a great match. We both played nice and I'm happy with my performance."
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4, while 16the seed Amanda Anisimova and Liudmila Samsonova also advanced.
With agencies
She is world No.1, a three-time Grand Slam winner and has banked career earnings of about $55 million but Aryna Sabalenka has not forgotten the hard times.
The Belarus star, who has accumulated 20 tour titles along the way, had just eased to a 6-2 6-3 win over Olga Danilovic, of Serbia, to reach the fourth round of the French Open, when she decided to settle some old scores in her post-match media conference.
She called out some of her former coaches, who, she said, constantly put her down and told her she would not make the grade.
From the summit of the women's game, she delivered a meaty slap-down of her own, saying there is no place for cruel, overbearing coaches in the sport.
"It's not about pushing me too hard. I've always been quite motivated and they didn't have to push me," she said.
"But I have heard a lot. Saying I'm not smart enough, that I'm stupid, and I'll never make it, and I don't have anything to make it to the top."
Sabalenka, who has won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024, along with the US Open in 2024, had her own method of dealing with such criticism. "I was just laughing and saying 'we'll see'," she said.
"I guess I want to send a quick message to them to quit their job, because honestly, I think they know nothing and they better quit just to save other players," she said.
Meanwhile defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her chase for a fifth French Open title by remaining cool at a steamy Roland Garros to overcome Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5 to reach the fourth round.
But the Pole had to navigate a second set lasting 1 hour, 16 minutes, yelling in relief after winning on her second match point.
"I'm just happy that I was super solid in that last game and did not give her any free points," said Swiatek.
"She went for it, and it was a great match. We both played nice and I'm happy with my performance."
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4, while 16the seed Amanda Anisimova and Liudmila Samsonova also advanced.
With agencies
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The 16-year-old son of Australia's former world No.1, who had gone through qualifying to make the event at Roland Garros, proved a handful on Sunday for Italian Pierluigi Basile, two years his senior and higher-placed in the world junior standings, before succumbing 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3. Hewitt lost the tightest of opening sets on a breaker and looked practically down and out as Basile served for the match at 5-3 in the second set and earned a match point at 5-4, but the Sydney youngster fought tigerishly to turn it around and take the match into a decider. The Italian had the superior firepower but Hewitt wouldn't lie down, revving up the the galleries packed round the tight court No.4 with the sort of crowd-rousing exhortations taken straight from his father's book. Ultimately, he lost in two hours 10 minutes, unable to reach the second round as he had done at the junior event in January at the Australian Open, where he also lost in the first round in the qualifiers for the senior event. On Monday, 16-year-old Emerson Jones, the world's No.2 female junior, kicks off her campaign as top seed in the girls' event against US qualifier Capucine Jauffret, while the other Australian in the boys' tournament Ty Host will face US sixth seed Benjamin Willwerth. Hewitt wasn't the only son of a famous player to feature in Sunday's program, with fifth seed Jagger Leach, whose mother is American former triple grand slam winner Lindsay Davenport, beating Kazakh Zangar Nurlanuly 6-1 1-6 6-0. Cruz Hewitt has rekindled memories of his dad Lleyton's battling heyday as he went down fighting in his first-round contest in the boys' event at the French Open. The 16-year-old son of Australia's former world No.1, who had gone through qualifying to make the event at Roland Garros, proved a handful on Sunday for Italian Pierluigi Basile, two years his senior and higher-placed in the world junior standings, before succumbing 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3. Hewitt lost the tightest of opening sets on a breaker and looked practically down and out as Basile served for the match at 5-3 in the second set and earned a match point at 5-4, but the Sydney youngster fought tigerishly to turn it around and take the match into a decider. The Italian had the superior firepower but Hewitt wouldn't lie down, revving up the the galleries packed round the tight court No.4 with the sort of crowd-rousing exhortations taken straight from his father's book. Ultimately, he lost in two hours 10 minutes, unable to reach the second round as he had done at the junior event in January at the Australian Open, where he also lost in the first round in the qualifiers for the senior event. On Monday, 16-year-old Emerson Jones, the world's No.2 female junior, kicks off her campaign as top seed in the girls' event against US qualifier Capucine Jauffret, while the other Australian in the boys' tournament Ty Host will face US sixth seed Benjamin Willwerth. Hewitt wasn't the only son of a famous player to feature in Sunday's program, with fifth seed Jagger Leach, whose mother is American former triple grand slam winner Lindsay Davenport, beating Kazakh Zangar Nurlanuly 6-1 1-6 6-0.
