WATCH: 'Shut the F*** Up': Sabalenka Angrily Yells At Fan During Rome Loss
NewsThursday, 15 May 2025 at 11:09
Aryna Sabalenka wasn't a happy woman on the court against Qinwen Zheng, and one of the fans made things even worse.
Despite previously never dominating on the clay courts, mostly because of Iga Swiatek's dominance on the red dirt, Sabalenka became one of the top favorites, if not the top favorite, to win this year's Roland Garros, thanks to her performance on clay.
She reached the final in Stuttgart, won the title in Madrid, and in Rome, Sabalenka reached the quarter-finals. Her opponent was Qinwen Zheng, whom she beat in six of their previous meetings, while losing only one set along the way.
It seemed like nothing could stop the Belarusian from winning her 10th consecutive match on the WTA Tour and reaching the Italian Open semi-finals, but Zheng played at a very high level, beating the World No. 1, 6-4, 6-3.
Over the past couple of years, Sabalenka has rarely been in a losing position, so it was not a surprise that she was slightly irritated when losing in this match.
After losing the first set, Sabalenka was down a break already after the opening game of the second set. Down 0-1 and 0-30 in the second set, the Belarusian was getting ready to receive when one of the fans shouted at her.
The fan probably wanted to support the three-time Grand Slam champion, or maybe just enjoy a longer match, saying: "Come on Aryna, play tennis." But this attempt to encourage Sabalenka was not well received by the player.
Sabalenka, trying to focus, produced a quick response, saying: "Shut the f*** up." Obviously, that's language that is not allowed on the tennis courts, so the top seed immediately received a warning for audible obscenity from the chair umpire, Marija Cicak.
Ultimately, this moment didn't alter the match in any way, as Zheng continued controlling the proceedings. She won 6-4, 6-3, in an hour and 38 minutes, securing a semi-final meeting with the fourth-seeded Coco Gauff.
While Sabalenka had reasons to be frustrated, it was the exact opposite for Zheng. She was happy about her performance after the match, especially since she had lost to Sabalenka six times before.
"Of course, I feel really happy because during all this time I'm trying to beat her on court. Sometimes I'm really close, but it's just I never make it before. This is the first time we play on clay. I guess when I play on clay, I'm more comfortable because I got great experience on clay."
"Doing well tonight because more patient than her. I see today that when I make her play a lot... I'm just happy with my performance and happy to make the step forward to beat the world No. 1."
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