Arina Sabalenka’s intense outbursts during her recent match against Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals did not go unnoticed…
And how could it be otherwise, of course, given that the Belarusian tennis player was “caught” on camera uttering extremely abusive and offensive remarks in Russian?
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She was hurling insults at Ukraine and, by extension, one might think, at her 32-year-old opponent, who, after all, is from that very country!
— Ukrainian Tennis • BTU (@ukrtennis_eng) November 14, 2026
“Those f***ing Ukrainians, for f***’s sake!” Or was it “That f***ing Ukrainian b***h, for f***’s sake!”? These are the words
Aryna Sabalenka appears to be saying in Russian, judging by her lip movements during her WTA Finals match against
Elina Svitolina. What a remarkable display of respect and sportsmanship from the world No. 2. But sure, let’s keep asking Ukrainian players why they refuse to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian opponents. Apparently, that’s still the bigger problem in tennis.
Seeing, however, the uproar caused by her behavior, Shabalena attempted to give her own version of the incident via an Instagram post. She claimed that her words were not directed at Svitolina, but at a small group of spectators who were loudly cheering her mistakes, causing her to lose her composure.
For the record, it’s worth noting that Shabalanka didn’t even shake Svitolina’s hand after their match and her elimination…
