Aryna Sabalenko was soundly beaten by Olena Rybakina in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane, but the reigning Australian Open champion did not seem fazed and showed a funny moment at the awards ceremony.

Aryna SabalenkoPhoto: Tertius Pickard/AP/Profimedia

>> Australian Open champion, humiliating defeat in WTA finals in Brisbane

Aryna Sabalenko and the culprits were found after the WTA finals in Brisbane: “You did a bad job today”

As happens after all finals, the players thanked those who were nearby, but the former world No. 1 changed her usual language and blamed her team for the disappointing result.

“A few words for my team. You didn’t do well today. 6-0, 6-3. It’s all your fault guys” – Aryna Sabalenko.

The last final in which a WTA Top 3 player lost a set 6-0 was in 2021, when Aryna Sabalenko served a “bagel” to Australia’s Ashley Barty (now retired from tennis) in Madrid.

Know:

  • After this victory, Olena is getting closer to Arina: the athlete from Belarus leads in head-to-head matches 5-3.
  • Thanks to the triumph in Brisbane, Rybakina will rise to the 3rd place in the WTA ranking (6811 points / overtook Auckland finalist Coco Gauff). Sabalenko remains in 2nd place (8905 points), and the first place is occupied by Iha Svyatek (9620)
  • Elena Rybakina has six titles: Bucharest (2019), Hobart (2020), Wimbledon (2022), Rome, Indian Wells (2023) and Brisbane (2024). She lost 9 more finals.
  • For Aryna Sabalenko, it was the 25th final in her career (13 wins, 12 losses).

The WTA Brisbane tournament was held from December 31 to January 7 on hard, was part of the WTA 500 category and offered a total prize pool of $1,736,763. Aryna Sabalenko (2023) became the champion of the title.