Aryna Sabalenka has taken to social media to explain the comments she made in the aftermath of her French Open final defeat against Coco Gauff on Saturday afternoon. Sabalenka, who has now lost two consecutive Grand Slam finals, was labelled “rude” by tennis icon Rennae Stubbs for her reaction to Gauff’s victory.
Posting on Instagram, Sabalenka said: “Yesterday was a tough one. Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win. She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned.
“You all know me… I’m always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can’t pretend it was a great day for me. But both things can be true… I didn’t play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect. Time to rest, learn, and come back stronger.”
Taking to X in the immediate aftermath of the weekend showpiece, Stubbs had said: “Ugh….the tennis was not that bad. You made a bazillion unforced errors because youre playing against the fastest players in the world who is as gutsy as hell and had better composure then u!! But to say it was horrible…..ugh!!!! Damn that was rude. I said what I said.”
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