WATCH: Sabalenka nearly hits ball kid with dangerous racket throw in Wuhan

Aryna Sabalenka came very close to hitting one of the ball kids and being disqualified at the 2025 Wuhan Open.

The WTA 1000 event in Wuhan was Sabalenka's first after her win at the US Open. That meant she entered the tournament in China on a winning streak and wanted to end it the same way.

Although that mission didn't start well, as she lost the opening set of her first match against Rebecca Sramkova, the world No. 1 then went on to win seven consecutive sets, which brought her only one set away from the final.

Sabalenka beat Sramkova, Liudmila Samsonova, and Elena Rybakina to reach the semi-finals. Especially her win over Rybakina was incredibly impressive, as she beat the Kazakhstani player 6-3, 6-3.

In the semi-finals, it once again looked like Sabalenka was marching towards another impressive win. She won the first set against Jessica Pegula 6-2, and having beaten the American eight times in their last 10 meetings, very few thought Pegula would end the match with a smile on her face.

Although Pegula won the second set 6-4, Sabalenka seemingly took over the match in the third set, leading 5-2. She even served for the match, but then it suddenly slipped out of her hands.

The top seed lost her serve at 5-3, and two games later, she was broken once again. It was after the last rally of the 11th game that Sabalenka failed to control her emotions.

After Pegula broke her opponent's serve for a 6-5 lead, Sabalenka dangerously threw her racket towards her bench. The racket then rebounded off the bench and almost hit one of the ball kids standing close to the net.

The world No. 1 quickly apologized to the ball kid, as she obviously didn't mean to harm anyone and only wanted to release her frustration. However, she wouldn't be the first player disqualified for similar action.

Sabalenka then faced two match points in the following game, but still broke Pegula's serve. However, she didn't play a good tie-break, ultimately losing the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-7(2).

Sabalenka will be able to fully forget her loss in the upcoming weeks. There will be tournaments held in Ningbo, Osaka, Tokyo, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Jiujiang, but the world No. 1 will miss all of those events.

She is not the only one. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and Madison Keys don't appear on the entry lists for these events either, which means tennis fans will see them on the tennis courts this year at only one more event.

The 2025 WTA Finals will be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 1st until 8th. Unlike in previous years, this year, it will be the last tournament of the season for women.