The US Open women’s singles final ended in defeat for Aryna Sabalenka, who will officially become the best tennis player in the world following the tournament. The Belarusian athlete was in the lead, but could not cope and gave the victory to her opponent. After the defeat, all that was left was to give free rein to emotions – laugh, cry, destroy your own racket and threaten others.

Sabalenka’s hysteria after a painful failure.

“I started thinking too much”

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka will replace Poland’s Iga Szwiatek on the first line of the WTA rankings. This became known even before the final of the US Open, the outcome of which could no longer affect the expected leadership. However, this did not mean that the 25-year-old athlete did not expect to win the US Open for the first time in addition to her status as the first racket of the world.

Arina had only one step left to take to the trophy – the girl made a difficult path to the finals, one meeting with Madison Keys is worth it! The Belarusian showed character, and then confidently began the decisive confrontation with another US representative, Cori Gauff. But after winning the first set, it was not possible to hold on to the victory – to the delight of the local fans, the victory went to the American.

Corey Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka / Photo: © Clive Brunskill / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

— In the first set, I coped well with my emotions. I was focused on myself, not on the audience. Of course, Gauff moved simply incredible. But in the second set I probably started to think too much and because of this I seemed to lose strength. After that, she began to act even better, and I began to miss a lot of simple blows,” Arina explained the reason for the failure.

“I’ll definitely drink”

Sabalenka took this defeat very painfully. In the locker room, she broke her racket on the floor and threw it into the trash without regret. While communicating with the press, the girl also could not contain her emotions. Arina cried, laughed hysterically, and after one of the questions she simply said, “I can’t continue.” However, she still continued the interview, found the strength to say warm words to her opponent, and expressed hope that they would meet again in the finals. The audience was loyal to the defeated tennis player and even applauded.

— Could you support this during a match? — Sabalenka asked.

During the match, I must admit, the audience did not hesitate to rejoice when the Belarusian made mistakes. From the outside it didn’t look very nice, but apparently the fans thought that any method was good for winning. Having paid tribute to the public, Sabalenka found words for her team: she thanked them, and at the same time outlined strange prospects.

— Thanks to my team, thank you guys. They know that after this tournament they will be fired! — the tennis player threatened in a playful manner.

Arina Sabalenko / Photo: © Robert Prange / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

And at the end of the press conference, Arina announced her own plans for the near future.

– I’ll definitely have a drink tonight. Yes, we are athletes, but sometimes we drink, but not much,” Sabalenka said with a smile.

Obviously, this was not the outcome of the final that the Belarusian athlete expected, which is why it was difficult for her to control her emotions – tears, laughter, the promise to fire everyone and the intention to drink transparently hint at the range of feelings that Arina experienced after the failure. Yes, this time it was not possible to win, but the status of the first racket of the world is already an accomplished and very pleasant fact. So you definitely shouldn’t worry too much about Sabalenka.