Sabalenka apologises for outburst in WTA Finals loss to Svitolina
Aryna Sabalenka says her swearing during Friday's WTA Finals defeat to Elina Svitolina was aimed at spectators, not the Ukrainian. She apologised on Instagram on Saturday after a clip went viral.
Aryna Sabalenka has apologised for an on-court outburst during her loss to Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. The Belarusian denied that her words were aimed at the Ukrainian. Svitolina won 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Friday, knocking the four-time Grand Slam winner out of the tournament. A video of Sabalenka gesturing angrily and swearing went viral on social media on Saturday. BBC Sport, quoted by Nile Post, reported that she swore in Russian. Some commenters read her words as an insult to Svitolina or to Ukrainians in general, according to SuperSport and Citizen Digital. In an Instagram post on Saturday, Sabalenka said her comment "was not directed at Elina". She said a small group of spectators had been "aggressively cheering my mistakes" and that she reacted emotionally. She added that she should have handled her frustration differently and apologised to anyone offended. She also praised Svitolina's play and wished her well for…
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