Aryna Sabalenka has been in the centre of a storm following her comments towards Coco Gauff after the French Open final.
Sabalenka made a bold statement about Gauff in her post-match speech after she was beaten in the Roland Garros final.
The world number one continued this in her press conference, where Sabalenka made reference to Iga Swiatek and Gauff.
After the match, Sabalenka received heavy criticism from many former players, with eight-time Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors now having his say.
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This is the second Grand Slam final that the Belarusian has lost this year, with Madison Keys beating Sabalenka at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Sabalenka had also lost to Gauff in the US Open final in 2023, but this appeared to be the most disappointed she had ever been after losing a major final.
Someone who knows what it is like to lose a Grand Slam final is the aforementioned Connors, who had finished as runner-up at seven major tournaments.
When speaking on his podcast, Connors argued that people should cut Sabalenka some slack and suggested that players should be given a bit longer to gather their thoughts before making their speech on-court.
“After a tough match, whether it’s the finals or the French or Wimbledon or whatever, everyone wants to hear your thoughts right away,” said Connors. “Maybe it would be better to give you five minutes and let the players take a breath.
“But they want to hear it right away, they want the scoop. And then they are critical of it. That’s why it’s always been a crawl in my whatever. These guys think they know what they are talking about when they have not done it.
“You can sit there and say I have saw this and I have watched so much tennis I know what’s in your mind. You don’t know what’s in my mind! You have no clue. And by the way not every player has the same thing going through their mind, everybody is an individual. So let the players take a breath sometimes.”
What has Coco Gauff said in response to Aryna Sabalenka?
Gauff admitted she thought Sabalenka’s comments were unfair when they were first addressed to her.
However, after receiving backlash, Sabalenka released a follow-up statement to clarify her previous remarks.
It appears that there is no big fallout between the players, with Gauff giving Sabalenka the ‘benefit of the doubt’ when asked about the situation in an interview on Good Morning America.
“I was a little bit surprised about the comments and everything but I’m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt,” said Gauff. “I’m sure it was an emotional day, emotional match. I know she was probably a bit emotional after that match and it was a tough loss.”
Gauff and Sabalenka could go head-to-head once again at their next tournament on the grass, but only if both players reach the final of the Berlin Open.
They will then head to Wimbledon, where Sabalenka will be the top seed over Gauff.