Tennis no.1 Aryna Sabalenka has been criticised after she appeared to insult opponent Elena Rybakina after losing the WTA Finals.
On Saturday afternoon, women's tennis number one Sabalenka suffered a brutal two set loss to rival Rybakina in the WTA Finals with a final scored of 6-3 and 6-6, with the second set decided by a 7-0 tie break.
Because both players came through the tournament undefeated, Rybakina's win saw her take home a record-breaking £3.98m - the largest payout in the history of women's tennis.
Meanwhile, the result left Sabalenka, who is known for her emotional outburst on court, in tears after losing to the world number six.
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However, it appears that the Belarusian tennis star allowed her emotions to get the better of her as fans have criticised her as she appeared to insult her opponent post-match.
Throughout the season, questions have been raised about Sabalenka's sportsmanship during emotional outburst, with the most recent being when she came close to hitting a ball kid when she threw her racquet in frustration during the Wuhan Open.
And these questions have once again come up after Russian fans and lip readers claimed that she could be seen insulting Rybakina and trivialising her triumphant win with a condescending comment.
According to Sportscasting, Sabalenka said: "Once a year even a stick shoots."
However, fans on social media were quick to point out that this is far from the first time that Rybakina has gotten the better of the world number one, with their head to head record currently sitting at 8-6 in favour of Sabalenka.
Reacting to the comment, one fan claimed on reddit: "Sabalenka is on the extreme ends of the likeable and unlikable spectrum. When she’s happy she’s unbelievably likeable, but when she’s being a sore loser she’s the exact opposite."
Another agreed, writing: "Rybakina completely dominated on serve and when Sabalenka had her chances, she choked them away. She can play the PR game yet again but everyone knows how big a sore loser she is."
With one adding: "She’s a champion, but also one of the sh****** losers in the sport currently."
Despite the loss, Sabalenka will retain her spot on top of the women's rankings and still boasts an impressive four titles this season, including winning a major in the U.S. Open Women's Championship in September.
Having also reached the final in the Australian Open and the French Open, while reaching the Semi Finals of Wimbledon, it is believed that the 27-year-old has earned around £11.38million in prize money in 2025 so far.
Topics: Tennis
Ben McCrum