Judy Murray lashes out at US Open chiefs after release of ‘private’ footage

Kevin Palmer 11 Sep 2023 12:20 AM

Judy Murray speaks out

The 2023 US Open has served up a host of talking points and now Judy Murray has added her voice to one of the more controversial incidents of the final Grand Slam of the year.

Players are rarely filmed when they return to the locker room area after a match, so the release of footage showing Aryna Sabalenka smashing a racket after she lost the final to Coco Gauff raised a few eyebrows.

The new world No 1 was very emotional in his post match interview and struggled to speak without tears flowing.

So it was no surprise that she was eager to release some of that emotion when she thought she was away from the cameras, with her angry racket smash followed by her walk to the bin to dispose of the damaged frame.

The images inspired the mother of Grand Slam champions Jamie and Andy Murray to take to Twitter to voice her annoyance at the footage.

This footage should never have been made public. A private moment in an empty training room after the disappointment of losing a Grand Slam final. https://t.co/ykWjVDUo7F

— judy murray (@JudyMurray) September 10, 2023

Sabalekna spoke about how her emotions got the better of her, as the New York crowd and Gauff piled the pressure on in the second and third sets.

“I would say that in the first set, I was dealing with my emotions quite good,” she said.

“I was focused on myself, not on the crowd or the way she moved. I mean definitely she was moving just unbelievable.

“Then in the second set, I probably started to overthink, and because of that, I started kind of like losing my power and she started moving better. I started missing a lot of easy shots.

“I mean, the good news is that it’s me against me. The bad one is that I’m still having these issues playing against myself. I would say sorry, but that’s okay.

“I’ll work harder, so next time I’m not going to get even a little bit tired on the court, so I’ll be better.

“Sometimes I can get emotional. Today on the court I was overthinking and I was missing balls I shouldn’t be missing.

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m making a lot of winners and a lot of unforced errors. Today it was unforced errors — a lot in the second set, and that’s where I [let] her believe that she can win this match. I got over-emotional after the second set.

“So, yeah, that’s what I mean — like me against me.”

Former US Open champion Martina Navratilova believes Gauff’s win means we now have a ‘big four’ at the top of the women’s game.

“We were talking the big three. Now it’s the big four. It’s Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff,” Navratilova told Sky Sports.

“She has no pressure on her now because now she’s won this one, so the expectations have been met. I think the confidence that she’ll get from this, she’s just getting started. Now she’s got some time to get better.

“Neither player played their best tennis but Coco played the best tennis when she needed to get back into the match in the second set. In the third set she played smart. She didn’t give Sabalenka anything to hit.

“Just see how much it meant to her. You have to trust yourself that you can put it together.”

“She’s such a great role model for young kids growing up that want to play tennis or just achieve something because she had a dream. Now she’s achieved it.

“She’s one of those people that will make a difference in the world in a positive way.”