Aryna Sabalenka was let off with a warning after a dangerous incident at the Wuhan Open over the weekend.
During her semifinal match Saturday against American Jessica Pegula, Sabalenka fired her racket at the net in a fit of rage after losing a point on an unforced error. The racket rebounded off a chair on the sideline and nearly hit a ballboy standing nearby.
As the racket settles near the net, the Belarussian star appears to hold out her hand toward the ballboy, as if to apologize.
“That is dangerous territory for Sabalenka, this semifinal has exploded into life in the last 10 to 15 minutes,” a commentator on the Sky Sports broadcast said.
“Sabalenka gets a warning for the racket abuse, but she is lucky it is not more.”
Tennis followers on social media also questioned why Sabalenka didn’t receive more than just a warning for her outburst.
“Should have been defaulted!” one user posted on X.
“This it horrible that the @atptour @WTA is letting @SabalenkaA get away with a near maiming of the ball boy with ZERO CONSEQUENCES!!,” another wrote.
“Just another pitiful display of Sabalenka’s disgusting and disgraceful sportsmanship. She should have been disqualified on the spot,” a third user replied.
The shocking incident occurred during the third set, which was tied 5-5 after Sabalenka had dropped three straight games. She would go on to lose the match in a tiebreak, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
Sabalenka is the No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player in the world, having won this year’s U.S. Open and reaching the finals at the Australian and French Opens. She also was a semifinalist at Wimbledon.
The tournament in Wuhan, China, previously had come under fire for its sweltering conditions, which saw former Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Jelena Ostapenko retire from their matches.
SWELTERING CONDITIONS
Raducanu had her blood pressure and other vitals checked before retiring with dizziness from her first-round match.
Iga Swiatek also called on organizers to take player safety into account when scheduling matches on the outside courts, where there is no roof.
“On centre court, I think, it’s a little bit cooler with the air conditioning and everything,” she said.
“But I hope the other matches will be scheduled at a time where girls can compete rather than just die on the court.”
Temperatures above 30 C forced organizers to put the WTA’s heat rule into effect on multiple days with play suspended on the outside courts.
— With files from AFP