Aryna Sabalenka Admits Her Grunts ‘Annoy’ Spectators: “We Need to Offer Earplugs to Them”

Aryna Sabalenka played at the Gardens Cup exhibition event, where she defeated Naomi Osaka.

Aryna Sabalenka Admits Her Grunts ‘Annoy’ Spectators: “We Need to Offer Earplugs to Them”

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/Wimbledon)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Aryna Sabalenka, one of the most entertaining tennis players, does something on court which, according to her, “annoys” the spectators. It’s her grunts about which she discussed during her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Sabalenka played the Gardens Cup exhibition, where she went past Naomi Osaka in singles. In mixed doubles, the pair of Sabalenka and Ben Shelton beat the pair of Nick Kyrgios and Osaka. It was Sabalenka’s first match against Kyrgios ahead of their singles clash at the Battle of the Sexes, scheduled to be held on December 28 in Dubai. While in New York, Sabalenka was invited to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. There, among other things, they joked about Sabalenka’s grunts.

I have zero control over it… You know, one time, I played an exhibition with Novak [Djokovic], and they put a mic on me. We need to offer earplugs to them! I don’t want to annoy people. I wanted to take off the mic, but I think they shut the sound off on the mic when I was hitting the ball.

Sabalenka, for the second consecutive time, finished the season as the No.1 player. She took home four titles from nine finals, with one trophy being the US Open, which she defended by going past home favorite Amanda Anisimova. Sabalenka also claimed two more Big Titles.

She first defeated home favorite Jessica Pegula in the Miami Open final, following which, she went past Coco Gauff in the Madrid Open. Apart from the US Open, the Belarusian made two more Grand Slam finals. She was denied the three-peat by Madison Keys at the Australian Open, and later at the French Open, Gauff won the match.

Aryna Sabalenka calls Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams the GOATS

Aryna Sabalenka sat for an interview with Piers Morgan during which, apart from answering questions about controversial subjects, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion was asked who she thinks are the greatest of all time in men’s and women’s tennis. In the former category, Sabalenka named 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, while in the latter category, she called Serena Williams the GOAT.

Serena Williams
Serena Williams (Image via X/We Are Tennis France)

For sure. The numbers show that… If we are talking numbers, for sure Serena, but my favourite is Steffi Graf, [Martina] Navratilova.

Graf and Navratilova won 22 and 18 Grand Slam singles titles. Morgan also asked the World No.1 whether she thinks she would be able to beat Graf and Navratilova in their prime.

No chance. I don’t have the time to reach all the achievements they have done. I am not bad, but I’m not the GOAT.

Aryna Sabalenka added

Sabalenka met Williams just once. Back in 2021, they faced each other in the fourth round of the Australian Open, which the former World No.1 before reaching the semifinals.

Williams, who won a Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, last won a tour-level title at the 2020 Auckland Open by defeating compatriot Jessica Pegula. The 44-year-old called time on her career at the 2022 US Open after her defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.

Sabalenka, apart from the aforementioned tournaments, also won the Brisbane International this year. She made the finals of the Indian Wells and the Stuttgart Open, losing them to Mirra Andreeva and Jelena Ostapenko, respectively. The 27-year-old was last seen in action in an official event at the WTA Finals.

She reached the championship clash for the second time but failed to go past Elena Rybakina, losing in straight sets. Sabalenka also had a 63-12 win-loss record this year.

Also read: Andy Roddick Weighs in on Steps to Prevent Player Harassment from Angry Bettors

https://x.com/i/status/1998816734229475360