Aryna Sabalenka hits back at critics who told her she needs to ‘fix attitude’

Shahida Jacobs 10 Jul 2026 11:30 AM

Aryna Sabalenka poolside in Greece - (Credit: Instagram)

Aryna Sabalenka’s earlier-than-expected exit from Wimbledon has resulted in one positive, as it gave her an opportunity to take a well-deserved extended holiday ahead of the North American hard-court swing.

The world No 1 started the grass-court Grand Slam as one of the favourites, but she was upset by 14th seed Naomi Osaka in the fourth round with the four-time major champion securing a comfortable 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) win.

Unsurprisingly, it was a despondent Sabalenka who appeared in the post-match press conference as she told journalists: “Obviously, guys, if you were expecting something really fun, not going to happen. Probably just going to be short answers.

“I f***** it up this year. Next year I’ll try to do better.”

The 28-year-old later added: “I just want to go, get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape.”

The critics were also out in force after Sabalenka’s defeat with many taking to social media to post nasty replies to some of her older stories.

WTA News

Alex Eala set to be handed a glorious chance to climb the rankings after Wimbledon heroics

Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon ranking points and prize money revealed after Karolina Muchova loss

“It’s the TikTok that’s why you lost Wimbledon,” one wrote while another added: “Cut back on social media, focus on tennis. We watch you more on social media than on the tennis courts.”

The 28-year-old has treated herself to a vacation in Mykonos, Greece, and she has clearly taken note of those comments as a new Tiktok video of her sipping on a cocktail had the following comment written: “Waking up to comments that say I care more about tiktok than tennis, that I don’t deserve to be world number one and that I need to fix my attitude.”

The post was accompanied by the caption: “Thank you guys for the advice!”

It was followed by a second video of Sabalenka and a friend having fun in the pool, drinking cocktails stating: “My version of therapy.”

Sabalenka still have a lot of free time on her hands before she returns to action as her next WTA Tour event is the Canadian Open with the WTA 1000 tournament getting underway on 3 August in Toronto.

The world No 1 did play in Canada last year as she withdrew from the tournament due to fatigue following a run to the semi-final at Wimbledon.

And there is good news and bad news in terms of her No 1 ranking battle with Elena Rybakina ahead of the WTA 1000 tournament.

Rybakina is now just 407 points behind the Belarusian in the Live WTA Rankings, but Sabalenka doesn’t have any points to defend following her absence last year while the Kazakh star reached the semi-finals so will drop 390 points, meaning the gap will grow before they have hit a shot in Toronto.