Venus Williams pinpoints ‘worst part’ of Sabalenka’s French Open upset | Tennis | Sport
Venus Williams has had her say on Aryna Sabalenka’s bombshell tennis comments. (Image: Getty)
Venus Williams says the worst part about Aryna Sabalenka’s defeat to Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarter-finals is the fact the world number one ‘let herself down’ after claiming said she felt like quitting tennis. It is only the second time in her last 14 finals where Sabalenka has failed to reach at least the semi-finals.
“No thoughts, no emotions,” said the Belarusian afterwards. “I just want to quit tennis right now. We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”
Speaking to TNT Sports about Sabalenka’s post-match comments, Williams said: “I was feeling sad actually. I was kinda like.. I got taken on her emotions. A lot of empathy for her. And she leaves it all on the court. You see everything she feels on the court.
“Perhaps maybe take a little more time if you need to before the press conference, because I don’t think she wants to quit tennis. That would be a tragedy for tennis and a tragedy for her. But when you lose it’s just so, like, ugh.
“The inner struggle is real. I like that she lets us in, lets us be a part of her world in that way. What happened today happens to every player at some point in time. And it hurts. The worst part is that you let your own self down.
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“And to deal with letting yourself down is the hardest thing in the world. If you just get beat, you just got beat. If somebody wiped you off the court, you got beat, they played better… You can deal with that.
“But right now she’s dealing with her own disappointment. It’s hard to sleep at night with that. What I’ll also say is that any of us would take the year she’s had. I think she’s just amplifying in this moment.
“But she’s had a great year. I don’t think she should have any regrets. This should make her stronger.”
Aryna Sabalenka said she felt like quitting tennis after her shock defeat at the French Open. (Image: Getty)
The defeat is the latest in a string of crushing defeats in which Sabalenka has been her own worst enemy as much as any rival. Last year’s final loss here to Coco Gauff, where Sabalenka drew criticism for what was perceived as a sour-grapes reaction, was a prime example, and if she is to finish her career with the grand slam haul her talent warrants, she must somehow master her emotions.
“I don’t know when was the last time that happened to me that I lost 10 games in a row,” she said. “I guess mentally I got into a very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track.
“This is something that I actually have to step back and try to find a solution, because I just am so tired of me losing some matches not in the best way just because I was overemotional.”
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On how she might move on from the defeat, Sabalenka added: “You know those rooms where you just go in and you smash everything. Probably I will spend a whole day tomorrow over there destroying stuff. Maybe it will help, maybe not.”
The top seed was frustrated that the roof had not been closed given the challenging conditions, though she paid tribute to opponent Shnaider for the way she handled the situation, particularly in the third set, with the Russian rising magnificently to the occasion in the biggest match of her career.
Sabalenka’s exit means not a single remaining player in the women’s draw has previously contested a grand slam final, while this marks the first major tournament since the 1977 French Open in which none of the men’s or women’s semi-finalists have previously claimed a slam title.
