Aryna Sabalenka has issued a public apology over her actions during the China Open which prompted a backlash on Social media.
The 20-year-old came under fire for her behaviour towards the ball kids. During a changeover of one of her matches, the Belarusian was trying to grab their attention by waving an empty water bottle towards them. Then when nobody came over, she proceeded to throw the bottle on the ground in front of her. Leaving it for one of the kids to pick up.
https://twitter.com/popalorena/status/1047865165977456642
Speaking about the incident for the first time at the Elite Trophy, Sabalenka has vowed to ‘never do it again.’ Saying that she didn’t remember her actions until seeing the controversy it caused on social media.
“Well, I’m so sorry,” said Sabalenka . “It was emotional and I was losing my mind and after that I saw it on Twitter and I was just like ‘Oh my god, what did you mean?’.
“I didn’t even remember this, and I was just like ‘Wow, I’m sorry for this guy’.”
Sabalenka is not the first player to have done such actions. During the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Roger Federer was caught throwing his bottle behind him. The Swiss world No.3 was taking on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the round-robin stage, which he won in three sets.
“They’re just small kids, and you can’t do anything to them. Yea, I’m so sorry for that guy and hopefully he’s not pissed with me.” Sabalenka further commented.
Earlier this year, Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco was blasted for his behaviour during the Shenzhen Open. Verdasco berated a ball boy for not bringing his towel to him quick enough during one of his matches. Prompting criticism from Just Murray, who tweeted afterwards “What about a rule that makes players get their own towels?”
Sabalenka is seeded third at the Elite Trophy, which is the final tournament in the 2018 WTA Calendar. She kicked-off her campaign on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Ashleigh Barty. The world No.12 is hoping to end her breakthrough season with another title after previously winning Premier titles in Connecticut and Wuhan. She was recently named WTA Newcomer of the Year.
“I’m happy with that. Everybody would be happy with that.” She commented on her WTA award. “I didn’t expect to do this well. Now I’m just enjoying it and trying to do more and more.”
In her next match, Sabalenka will play Caroline Garcia.
