Venus Williams admitted she was ‘sad’ to hear how Aryna Sabalenka reacted after her shock loss in the Roland Garros quarter-finals yesterday.
After all, it was another highly emotional match for the world number one, where she was undone by her inability to deal with the unfavourable, blustery Paris conditions.
Last year, in the final, she also surrendered a one-set lead to Coco Gauff, and her reaction after the match was explosive.
Sabalenka was criticised by plenty of pundits for her comments, and she vowed to return stronger.
However, yesterday marked a disappointing mirror image of that dark day, albeit with her press conference after being far more downbeat.
Venus Williams gives emotional reaction to Aryna Sabalenka’s shock loss
The reason why Venus Williams felt so sorry for Aryna Sabalenka was that, almost immediately after she sat down in front of reporters, the Belarusian claimed that she wanted to ‘quit tennis’ after suffering such a shock defeat.
Speaking to TNT Sports afterwards, the American tennis legend admitted: “I was feeling sad actually.”
What’s next for Aryna Sabalenka after shock French Open exit?
She continued: “I was kinda like.. I got taken on her emotions. A lot of empathy for her. And she leaves it all on the court. You see everything she feels on the court.
“Perhaps maybe take a little more time if you need to before the press conference, because I don’t think she wants to quit tennis. That would be a tragedy for tennis and a tragedy for her. But when you lose, it’s just so, like, ugh. The inner struggle is real.”
However, Venus admired Sabalenka’s openness in such a dire situation, adding: “I like that she lets us in, lets us be a part of her world in that way. What happened today happens to every player at some point in time. And it hurts. The worst part is that you let your own self down. And to deal with letting yourself down is the hardest thing in the world.
“If you just get beat, you just got beat. If somebody wiped you off the court, you got beat; they played better. You can deal with that. But right now she’s dealing with her own disappointment. It’s hard to sleep at night with that.
“What I’ll also say is that any of us would take the year she’s had. I think she’s just amplifying in this moment. But she’s had a great year. I don’t think she should have any regrets. This should make her stronger.”
Aryna Sabalenka needs to learn from Iga Swiatek when playing on clay
It’s clear that Sabalenka struggles when the conditions are against her. This is the second time in as many years that she has been beaten by the wind in Paris as much as her opponent.
And, whilst it is hard to train and prepare for something as unpredictable as the weather, there are measures one can put in place to ensure they are prepared for such events.
Iga Swiatek, although her form might be faltering of late, still represents the best image for Sabalenka to mirror if she is to fix this glaring issue.
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After all, she is the picture of professionalism, with her footwork recognised as one of the best in the sport right now.
That is why she is often so prolific in windy conditions, because the former world number one is able to take so many little steps to ensure that she is always in the perfect position to strike the ball.
If Sabalenka takes anything from her loss at Roland Garros this year, it’s that she could do with being a little bit more like Swiatek going forward, if she is to follow in the footsteps of the four-time champion here in Paris.
