A thriller at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne saw American Madison Keys upset No. 1-ranked women’s singles player Aryna Sabalenka to win the Australian Open on Saturday.
After shaking hands with the victor, Sabalenka let out her emotions on her racket.
Sabalenka, who was looking to become the first player since Martina Hingis to win three straight Australian Opens, fell to Keys, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, in the match, which gave her opponent her first-ever Grand Slam title.
Sabalenka shook Keys’ hand at the net, followed by the chair umpire, but she was seen slamming her racket and throwing it at the bench once the niceties were finished.
Sabalenka then covered her face in a towel before storming off into the locker room.
The heat of competition not going your way in the end can be tough to swallow in the moment, and Sabalenka said as much during his post-match press conference.
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“There definitely was a bit of frustration, because I was so close to achieve something crazy,” she said, per The New York Post. “When you’re out there, you’re fighting, but it seems like everything (is not) going the way you really want (it) to go.”
Sabalenka added that she “just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end,” and she did so literally to her Wilson racket. She said she needed to do that “so I could give a speech (and) not stand there being disrespectful.”
“I was just trying to let it go and be a good person,” Sabalenka said.
Getting the raw emotion out appeared to work, as Sabalenka was seen joking with her team after the loss.
“As always, that’s your fault guys,” she said, laughing. “I don’t wanna see you for the next week. I really hate you. No thank you for everything you are doing for me and blah, blah, blah.”
Sabalenka got back to a serious note, though, addressing Keys.
“I think we did our best,” Sabalenka said. “Just Madison was playing incredible. I just couldn’t do anything in this match. Next time I play against Madison, I bring better tennis.”
As for Keys, she also showed love to Sabalenka, saying it was “unbelievable playing” on her part. She also noted, at age 29, that she never thought she’d win a Grand Slam despite coming close in the past.
“From a pretty young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been. That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around,” Keys said.
“So, I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career, with or without a Grand Slam. I finally got to the point where I was OK if it didn’t happen. I didn’t need it, to feel like I had a good career or that I deserved to be talked about as a great tennis player.
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