Sabalenka loses her cool, then says sorry and blames spectators for the Indian Wells row

Aryna Sabalenka says she lost her cool not at Ukrainian rival Elina Svitolina but was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were ‘aggressively cheering my mistakes’ at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on November 14, 2026. — AFP pic

First Published: Sunday, 15 Nov 2026 5:44 PM MYT

Last Modified: Sunday, 15 Nov 2026 6:23 PM MYT

LOS ANGELES, Nov 15 — Aryna Sabalenka apologised on Saturday after an on-court outburst during her defeat to Ukrainian rival Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.

Footage shared widely on social media appeared to show the former world number one swearing in a tirade that some commenters interpreted as directed towards Svitolina or Ukrainians in general.

However, Sabalenka said Saturday that she lost her cool due to the behaviour of spectators during Friday’s 3-6, 6-3, 1-6 defeat, which sent the four-time Grand Slam-winner crashing out.

“I want to clarify something from my recent match that has been circulating online,” Sabalenka wrote in a post on Instagram.

“My comment was not directed at Elina. I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes and I reacted emotionally in the moment.

“That said, I should have handled my frustration differently and I apologise to anyone I offended. Elina played a great match, and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.”

Svitolina, who has refused to shake hands with tennis players from Russia and its regional ally Belarus since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, acknowledged that a match against Sabalenka could carry extra weight for her fans.

“As we see there’s many, many Ukrainians, many, many flags ... and of course they want me to win this particular match,” she said Saturday when asked about Sabalenka’s statement.

“We’ve played many times with Aryna ... she has her fans. I have my fans,” added Svitolina, who reached the Finals title match with a win over Linda Noskova on Saturday.

“I have seen the glimpse of it because obviously it’s in the social media,” she said. “(I) just hope the matches between us (are) respected. Sometimes in some matches that we’ve played also there have been not great comments towards me in regards of the war.

“It is like this in the social media sometimes the things are turned around a little bit.” — AFP