Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka congratulated Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina after the US Open final, reports infohub.kz.
The world's top-ranked players met in the deciding match of the season's final Grand Slam. Rybakina won and became US Open champion for the first time in her career. Sabalenka had won this major in the two previous seasons.
Immediately after the match ended, the Belarusian smashed her racket. She then swore several times at the cameramen, asking them not to film her.
At the award ceremony, Sabalenka congratulated Rybakina and jokingly asked her rival to celebrate the victory until the end of the season. The Belarusian could not hold back tears.
"Making a speech is the last thing I want to do right now. But I'll try my best. Thank you all for the support! It was a pleasure to play for you over these two weeks. Of course, I'm disappointed, but I want to congratulate Elena on an amazing season and such results. It's fully deserved. Enjoy it and have fun — today, tomorrow and until the end of the season, so that I can win a few titles... I felt at home here. Thank you to my team and friends. I wish I could have played better, but now, hopefully, next year," Sabalenka said.
Following the US Open, the Belarusian will drop to second place in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings. Rybakina will become world No. 1.