Aryna Sabalenka has spoken out after she was almost disqualified from the Wuhan Open on Saturday. The four-time Grand Slam champion allowed her emotions to get the better of her during her semi-final clash with Jessica Pegula as he threw her racket in frustration.
Sabalenka enjoyed a strong run in Wuhan as she overcame Rebecca Sramkova in her opening match after fighting back from a set down before thrashing Liudmila Samsonova and Elena Rybakina in her next two encounters to set up a semi-final showdown with long-term rival Pegula. Sabalenka, who defeated Pegula in the US Open semi-finals last month, blasted the American off court in the first set. But Pegula fought back to win the match 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 and book her place in the final, where she will meet compatriot Coco Gauff.
After Sabalenka had lost a vital point at 5-5 in the deciding set, she launched her racket towards her bench.
The racket bounced off the bench before spiralling back towards the court. And it narrowly missed a cameraman.
Had it hit the cameraman, the Belarusian would have been automatically disqualified. Instead, she was handed a warning by the umpire.
Following the match, Sabalenka took to Instagram to offer her verdict on her run in Wuhan.
And the 27-year-old told her followers: “That’s a wrap on @wuhanopenwta. Not the ending I wanted but thankful for the time spent here.
“Thank you to the fans for the support and making this stadium feel like home.”
Pegula will be eyeing glory in the showpiece match after battling back to defeat Sabalenka. And following the semi-final, she explained: “For what I did in the tiebreak, I’m just really proud of myself.
“I’ve played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches, but I feel like I’m very tough right now and I’m just using that [feeling] as best as I can.”
And her rival in the final, Gauff, who defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 in their semi-final, stated following her last-four victory: “Sabalenka and Pegula are great players, and I’ve lost to them both before. But overall, I’m just going to focus on my side of the court and try to control the things I can control.”
Gauff, who won the second Grand Slam title of her career at the French Open in June, has been made the slight favourite ahead of Sunday’s final as she goes in search of her second WTA Tour title of the year. But she will face a huge test against Pegula, who has already won three WTA Tour events in 2025.