Aryna Sabalenka asked to cut a joint interview with Carlos Alcaraz short after accidentally referring to the Spaniard as “Jannik”. Alcaraz claimed his second US Open men’s title on Sunday evening after getting the better of rival Jannik Sinner in New York, with Sabalenka dispatching Amanda Anisimova in the women’s final a day earlier.
Sabalenka and Alcaraz have both enjoyed a fine season on the court, with the Belarusian reaching the Australian Open and French Open finals ahead of her triumph at Flushing Meadows. Alcaraz, meanwhile, has added another two Grand Slam titles to his list of achievements after also overcoming Sinner in the showpiece match at Roland Garros in June.
Sabalenka and Alcaraz featured on NBC’s The Today Show on Monday morning as the duo showed off their US Open trophies.
During the chat, Sabalenka was asked to comment on videos of her performing dance moves on social media.
And she said: “I’m terrible at dancing but I’m trying my best. I always pick the easiest moves. You have to see the first try, it’s a disaster. By the way I had a TikTok to do with Jannik…”
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Sabalenka then immediately stopped talking as she covered her mouth with her hand in astonishment at her mistake.
Alcaraz pretended to be offended as he jokingly got up to leave. But the 22-year-old saw the funny side as he laughed and sat back down. “It’s nine in the morning, don’t worry”, he said. “It’s all good. I didn’t hear anything, don’t worry about it.”
Sabalenka, 27, apologised as she rested her hand on Alcaraz’s shoulder. She then exclaimed: “Can we cut it, can we cut it?”
The two tennis stars were soon treated to some champagne in the studio and were told to forget the error ever happened.
Sabalenka went on to admit she had drunk champagne from the US Open trophy and joked: “I still smell like champagne.” The tennis players ended the segment by agreeing to perform together in another TikTok video.
After showing her dominance at the US Open, Sabalenka will be aiming to add more Grand Slam silverware to her trophy cabinet in 2026.
And she will arrive at next year’s Grand Slams with huge expectations after admitting she had the “completely wrong mindset” going into the showpiece matches in Melbourne and Paris earlier this year.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, will be hoping to keep his edge over Sinner next season, with the duo rarely troubled by any other players at Grand Slams.