Aryna Sabalenka is one of the top women’s tennis players in the world; until very recently, she had sat at World Number One for 96 weeks. At the age of 28, she has already had a more than respectable career, with 24 singles titles under her belt – four of those being Grand Slams. Despite this, and despite not having been the subject of any major scandal, she is largely disliked by tennis fans.
Perhaps it has something to do with her more aggressive temperament; during matches she frequently breaks racquets and can be seen shouting at her coaching box. After matches, she sometimes gives dismissive or seemingly rude interviews, rendering her a much more outspoken and divisive figure than her peers Gauff, Swiatek, and Rybakina, who are more quiet and reserved. After her French Open loss in 2025, she was not congratulatory towards Coco Gauff, claiming that she lost because of her mistakes coming from “easy balls.” Many viewed this as unsportsmanlike, and she was required to backtrack and apologise to Gauff.
However, this is not unique to Sabalenka. It is not a secret that athletes can be difficult and temperamental. Nick Kyrgios is famous for his aggression on court. Medvedev hit a spectator with a ball – accidentally – out of frustration at the China Open this year. These players are labelled as dramatic far less than Sabalenka. The bitter attitude towards her, and the perception of her as hysterical, no doubt has its roots in a culture of misogyny which dominates sport.
Sabalenka is not everyone’s cup of tea. Fine. But the quantity of hate that she gets, as well as the form that it takes is disproportionate and sexist. Male players are never held to the same standard, with several active male players maintaining thriving fan bases despite serious allegations of abuse against them. Kyrgios pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend but managed to maintain his image as the “the bad boy of tennis.”
The inherent biases of the sport are only emphasised by the media, where Sabalenka being slightly snippy in a post match interview is viewed as more of an issue than spitting at spectators or committing actual crimes. Tennis may have equal pay, but sexism is still embedded into the public’s perception of players and their behaviours.
“Aryna Sabalenka (2023 US Open) 28” by Hameltion is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
