Aryna Sabalenka Nearly Hits Ballboy With Vicious Racket Toss In Outrageous Scene
Sabalenka lost her cool, to put things mildly.
Aryna Sabalenka came within inches of hitting a ballboy with her racket in an act of rage during a recent loss.
Sabalenka, the top-ranked women's tennis player in the world, looked to be in control of her semifinal match against American Jessica Pegula at the Wuhan Open on Saturday, winning the first set 6-2. Then, the match flipped, and the Belarusian didn't exactly handle the moment like you'd expect a four-time major winner would.
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After dropping the second set 4-6, Sabalenka grabbed a 5-2 lead in the final frame before dropping three straight games. It was during the 11th game of the final set when she let out her frustrations on her racket by throwing it on the ground and toward her bench. The racket ended up taking a not-so-favorable bounce off the bench, and nearly made contact with the nearby ballboy, who actually had to move out of the way of the flying racket.
Shockingly, Sabalenka only received a warning for racket abuse. She put a hand up and appeared to quickly apologize to the ballboy while walking to retrieve her racket.
Sabalenka and Pegula ultimately went to a tiebreak in the final set, which was dominated 7-2 by the American. Pegula went on to lose to fellow American Coco Gauff in the final the following day in straight sets.
Sabalenka losing her cool to this extent shows just how emotional the game can be. Just a few short months ago, she won her second consecutive U.S. Open title in New York to cap off a 2025 Grand Slam season that saw her make the final at the French Open and semifinals at Wimbledon.