‘If fans support my opponent, what can I do?’: Sabalenka’s blunt response over crowd cheering for Jabeur in Wimbledon SF

Aryna Sabalenka’s dreams of lifting a Wimbledon trophy came to an end on Thursday as she was beaten by Tunisian Ons Jabeur in their semifinal. Sabalenka was within a couple of games of earning the win in the second set, but Jabeur found form and range just in time as she rattled off 10 of the last 12 games to clinch the match.

Sabalenka would also have ascended to world number one with a victory, meaning the match was a missed opportunity for the Belarusian. Jabeur was also the crowd favourite heading into the match, and that support helped the Tunisian push through in a match where she was lagging behind after the first set.

Sabalenka was asked in her press conference about the support Jabeur got over her, and if that played a part in the mental aspects of the battle. However, Sabalenka played it off as an inconsequential part of the game.

“Well, I mean, I expect that. I knew that they going to support her more. I’m fine with that. If people support my opponent, what can I do about that? I’m focusing on myself.”

“I know there is a lot of people watching on TV supporting me. I have my family. I have my team. That’s enough for me,” said Sabalenka. The Belarusian has been on the wrong side of crowds before, infamously waiting at the net for Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian had made clear she did not intend to shake the hands of any Russian or Belarusian player.

It will be a tough loss to take for Sabalenka, who found herself in a winning position, but was unable to enter a second final of the year, after having won the Australian Open. Sabalenka also lost to Karolina Muchova in the French Open semifinals, another tournament where she had the number one title within her grasp.

Nevertheless, it has been a successful year for the Belarusian, who has reached at least the semifinal in all three slams and also won the Madrid 1000 event. “It’s definitely one of the best years so far. I mean, I can’t complain about my results this year, to be honest. The farther you go, the more you want. It’s still tough to, yeah, recover after these kind of matches.”

Sabalenka won’t have a shot at overtaking Iga Swiatek, but Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will have a chance of crowning a new grand slam champion on Saturday. Sabalenka credited Jabeur for an incredible performance over the last half of the match. “Overall I didn’t play my best tennis today. She just played really I would say not fast but low and sometimes I didn’t expect that much lines. I mean, she played unbelievable tennis,” she concluded.

This is Jabeur’s third grand slam final in 12 months, as she will look to go one better from her loss at last year’s final to Elena Rybakina, having overcome the Kazakh player in the quarterfinals. Jabeur is one of the best players on the tour, but will be faced by stiff competition from Czech lefty Vondrousova, who in her young career has already reached a Roland Garros final and won the Olympic silver medal, and is a dangerous player when healthy.