Aryna Sabalenka most HATED tennis player along with Novak Djokovic according to the latest report
Aryna Sabalenka has been named as the most hated female player according to the World Sports Network(WSN).
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Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka (Image Credits: Tennis365)
The World Sports Network (WSN) recently conducted research to determine the amount of online hate received by tennis players. In the report it was found that Aryna Sabalenka was placed on the first spot as the most hated player on the WTA circuit. On the other hand, Novak Djokovic leads the list in the men’s category.
The World No.2 had a terrific start to her career in this year. Sabalenka won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open, after defeating Elena Rybakina in three sets. The Belarussian had an incredible start to her clay campaign. The 25-year-old reached the final spot in Stuttgart but fell short to the brilliant play of Iga Swiatek. At the Madrid Open, Sabalenka secured her second finals clash with the World No.1 and claimed her season’s first clay-court title.
In spite of her huge success, the Belarussian player is perceived in a negative light by the tennis world. According to the research by World Sports Network (WSN), Sabalenka receives the most negative feedback, with a stat of 15% on Twitter and five percent angry reactions to her Facebook posts. She was followed by Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia, both receiving 10% negative sentiment from the public. On the fourth spot, the World No.1 Iga Swiatek received an overall seven percent negative reaction. The American player Coco Gauff was placed fifth with a score of five percent.
The WSN research stated that female players were more prone to online abuse as compared to the ATP. The WTA top seeds received an average of 8.6% negative sentiment in comparison to 8.3% in the men’s category. In response to online hate, the French Open organizers have decided to use an AI moderator to protect the players from social media abuse, bullying, and racist comments.
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Martina Navratilova praises Aryna Sabalenka ahead of the Roland Garros
Aryna Sabalenka had an outstanding start this year. The World No.2 achieved her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open. She also booked her finals spot in Indian Wells but faced a tough loss at the hands of Elena Rybakina. On the clay surface, the Belarussian has reached the final of Stuttgart and won her second Madrid Open trophy. However, her Italian Open run came to an end, after losing the first round to the outstanding play of Sofia Kenin.
With four finals appearances on WTA Tour, one WTA 1000 title, and a Grand Slam trophy, Sabalenka is one of the potential contenders for the major in Paris. Her ‘aggressive’ play style will pose a huge challenge for all the competitors. Martina Navratilova, the former tennis player, voiced her opinion about the Belarussian player. She said that Sabalenka can transform her game according to the surface and her Grand Slam victory will provide a confidence factor.
“I like her clay game. Look, not everybody realizes that Sabalenka’s power translates to any surface. And on clay it’s harder to defend because it’s harder to recover, get out of the corners. No reason that with that big serve and those big shots can’t succeed. I mean, she won the title in Madrid, and last year’s results showed that wasn’t a flash in the pan by any means,” she said.
Sabalenka will be facing the Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk in the first round of Roland Garros.
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Tanushree Verma
(52 Articles Published)