It’s not easy to maintain composure after a Grand Slam final loss — especially at the hands of Coco Gauff.
Following Aryna Sabalenka’s loss to the 19-year-old Gauff in the U.S. Open final, cameras caught the Belarusian star taking out her frustrations on her racket inside the player’s area.
Sabalenka, who will rise to the No. 1 world ranking on Monday, won the first set in Saturday’s final but ultimately lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to the American phenom, who won her first-ever Grand Slam with the victory.
In the video first posted by Eurosport France, Sabalenka is seen placing her tournament runner-up trophy in her bag before grabbing one of her Wilson tennis rackets, peering at it for a moment, and smashing it on the ground.
It’s not Sabalenka’s first time sacrificing a racket during this tournament, or even this week.
The 25-year-old smashed a racket during her semifinal win over American Madison Keys, then tried to send the racket back up to her coaching box.
Sabalenka’s powerful groundstrokes consistently found the net during Saturday’s final, as she committed 46 unforced errors to just 19 from Gauff.
“I just want to say congrats Coco, you played unbelievable. Congrats to you and your team, you guys deserve this title. Many more to come I’m pretty sure, I hope we’re going to play many more finals. Different results, hopefully,” Sabalenka said with a laugh after the match.
The Belarusian completed the best year of her career at the Grand Slams in 2023, winning the Australian Open in January and following that up by making at least the semifinals at every major tournament afterward.
“I knew if I didn’t give it my all, I had no shot at winning. Aryna is an incredible, incredible player. Congratulations on the No. 1 ranking. It’s well deserved. I always tell my team you’re a really nice person,” Gauff said in her remarks after the match.
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