Aryna Sabalenka’s Reaction To Iga Swiatek’s Prized New Porsche Receives Mixed Reviews

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka, 24, has been the runner-up of the Stuttgart Open for the past three years.

In 2021, she lost to Ashleigh Barty, and in 2022 and 2023, she lost to Iga Swiatek, 21.

One of the perks of winning the Stuttgart Open is that the champion gets a brand-new Porsche.

Sabalenka’s reaction to the loss of yet another Porsche has received mixed reviews in the tennis community.

What Sabalenka Did

Sabalenka was holding her trophy as she walked by the Porsche.

She twisted her trophy presumably to pretend it was a baseball bat and pretended to swing it at one of the windows of the vehicle.

She knew it would be caught on camera and had a half-smile on her face as she did it.

Sabalenka wanted a car and joked with the tournament organizers during her speech about giving out an extra car next year if she makes the finals.

The Background

There is underlying tension between Swiatek and Sabalenka because of Swiatek’s strong stance on the Ukrainian War.

Swiatek is Polish and has not stopped talking about the plight of the Ukrainians since the war began.

She also questions whether Russian and Belarusian players should be allowed to compete because of the war.

Sabalenka is Belarusian and recently reflected on not being liked because of the ongoing war.

 

An Icy Handshake

Following the match, the players’ handshake at the net was a good indicator that their off-the-court relationship is not on the best of terms.

 

Their icy behavior with each other is a stark contrast to how Swiatek interacted with Ons Jabeur who had to retire in the semifinals due to an injury and Sabalenka’s easy-going demeanor with Spaniard Paula Badosa.

 

Professionalism is all that we can expect, and these two players are the best in the world right now so they will presumably meet in a lot of big matches.

So that brings us back to the question of whether Sabalenka’s behavior with the trophy and the car was considered professional.

Some found it funny, and others thought it was inappropriate.

It is subject to individual interpretation.


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