Aryna Sabalenka makes feelings known on ‘first serve’ drama against Marta Kostyuk in Madrid Open quarterfinals

Aryna Sabalenka took a 3-0 lead in the head-to-head encounter with Marta Kostyuk and moved into her fourth semifinal in Madrid.

Aryna Sabalenka makes feelings known on ‘first serve’ drama against Marta Kostyuk in Madrid Open quarterfinals

Marta Kostyuk, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/MMOpen)

The Madrid Open quarterfinal match between Aryna Sabalenka and Marta Kostyuk saw a heated moment during the second set. When Sabalenka was 4-5 in the tie-breaker, she missed her serve and stopped playing due to rain.

She approached the chair umpire and claimed that the rain was making it difficult for her to continue paying. But the chair umpire told her to continue amid the drizzle.

She was about to hit her second serve but stopped herself and once again asked the umpire to halt the game, insisting that she could not serve as rain was falling into her eyes. The umpire this time listened to her and play was halted during which the roof of Manolo Santana was closed.

That Sabalenka would be hitting her first serve again angered the Ukrainian. She protested and argued with the umpire why the Belarusian was allowed to hit the first serve when she stopped herself after hitting it. After winning the match, Sabalenka made her feelings known about the controversy.

Oh my God! Serving while the rain was falling was impossible. I tried with the first serve, but I realized that I had to stop because the water was getting into my eyes. It was impossible. I knew I was going to double fault, and I didn’t want that to happen, so I decided that the game couldn’t continue. I’m glad I did it.

Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview

Watch the video of the incident here:

Kostyuk also did not shake hands with Sabalenka after the match because of the Russia-Ukraine war. Following her 7-6(4), 7-6(7) win, Sabalenka took a 3-0 lead in the head-to-head encounters, following her victories at the 2022 Dubai Open and the 2023 Roland Garros.

Marta Kostyuk takes a jibe at Aryna Sabalenka during their Madrid Open match

Marta Kostyuk won the next point during the tie-breaker to take a 6-4 lead but Aryna Sabalenka held her nerves and saved the set points to secure a berth in the last four. When the play was halted due to the rain, Kostyuk talked to her team during which she could be heard taking a dig at the three-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Aryna Sabalenka (3)
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

She is never winning a sportsman’s award, that’s for sure.

Marta Kostyuk said

Watch the video here:

Kostyuk, the winner of one singles title, will continue her hunt for her first title of the season at the second clay-court WTA 1000 of the season, the Italian. Her best performance this season came in Madrid.

Sabalenka, on the other hand, is the winner of two titles this year. She lifted the Brisbane International and her first Sunshine Double singles title at the Miami Open. Apart from these wins, she also progressed to three more finals: at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and the Stuttgart Open.

Aryna Sabalenka to lock horns with Elina Svitolina in the semifinals

Aryna Sabalenka has set up her Madrid Open semifinal clash with Elina Svitolina, who breezed past Moyuka Uchijima prior to which, she also knocked out Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka has met the Ukrainian five times and leads the head-to-head record 4-1.

Aryna Sabalenka Miami Open
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via Instagram @arynasabalenka)

The upcoming match will be their fourth meeting on clay following the 2020 Internationaux de Strasbourg, the 2023 Roland Garros, and the 2024 Italian Open. Svitolina’s lone victory against the 26-year-old came in Strasbourg.

The winner of the match will face World No.2 Iga Swiatek or World No.4 Coco Gauff in the final. Last year in the Madrid Open final, which also later won the 2024 WTA Match of the Year, Swiatek saved three championship points against Sabalenka to win her first title in the Spanish capital.

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