![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aryna-sabalenka-celebrates-defeating-polina-iatcenko-in-the-E6IF3IL3NVCMZCI2UJZGOQKKUQ.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWorld number one tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has hit back at a reporter after a question about “parties and fun” around the US Open, questioning why her off-court appearances were being linked to her tournament preparation. <\/p>\n
The two-time defending champion was asked about her activities away from the court after defeating Polina Iatcenko 6-1 6-1 in New York.<\/p>\n
“Aryna, I’m sort of curious, how are you finding your mood now that the tournament has started? Obviously last week, it’s lots of parties and fun and stuff like that,” a reporter asked during a press conference. <\/p>\n
Visibly annoyed, Sabalenka fired back: “You guys are, like, a joke. Parties, fun… like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? What kind of question is that?” <\/p>\n
“Just because I posted some activities with brands, you think that I’ve been partying, not training?”<\/p>\n
The reporter attempted to clarify that he was not suggesting Sabalenka had been partying, but was referring to the number of appearances and events surrounding the tournament.<\/p>\n
“Okay. Move on,” Sabalenka replied.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates defeating Polina Iatcenko in the second round on Day 4 of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 02, 2026 in New York City (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n
When he then asked whether she became more “serious and combative” once the tournament began, Sabalenka responded sarcastically: “Oh yeah, I wasn’t serious before then. Next question.”<\/p>\n
A second reporter began asking Sabalenka a question, before she interrupted to fire back at the first reporter. <\/p>\n
“Think before you say stuff,” she said, before quickly clarifying the comment was not directed at the second reporter.<\/p>\n
Sabalenka later said she was happy with her form as she continued her bid for a third consecutive US Open title. <\/p>\n
“I’m happy with my level. I’ve been working really hard, but I feel like I’m kind of, like, moving away from being — trying to be perfect on court,” she said. <\/p>\n
“I know that you cannot be perfect, and I’m just trying to work with what I have right now. <\/p>\n
“I’m pretty happy with the level. I’m happy with my focus. I’m happy that I’m able to focus on myself no matter what and being consistent with my focus.”<\/p>\n
The four-time Grand Slam champion was yet to win a title since claiming the Miami Open in March, but said she was feeling stronger after struggling during the middle of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World number one tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has hit back at a reporter after a question about “parties…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[411,28],"class_list":["post-65291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-north-america","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}