A new drama unfolded at the Madrid Open during a late-night quarter-finals clash between Aryana Sabalenka and Marta Kostyuk after rain caused a brief delay in the game.
According to Athlon Sports, a clash to make a spot in the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 event between Sabalenka and Kostyuk was already at an intense point when it took a controversial turn during a crucial tiebreaker after a little drizzle began to fall.
As the rain began, Sabalenka appeared reluctant to continue playing, taking as much time as she could, trying to stop the match by complaining the rain was affecting her vision by falling in her eyes.
Kostyuk claimed that Sabalenka stopped her service motion multiple times voluntarily, despite clear instructions from the chair umpire to continue play.
The Ukrainian player vented to the umpire, “She was waiting for five minutes to serve! And then she started to serve again. How is this possible? Why is it first serve again? But wait, she stopped by herself, nobody stopped her.”
“It was like two minutes when she served first time, and then she stopped. She could have stopped ten times, and she voluntarily stopped. You told her you have to keep going, and she stopped by herself again, by herself. She said, ‘I do not serve.’ Nobody stopped her,” she added.
However, Sabalenka clinched a spot in the semifinals of the Madrid Open with a 7-6(4), 7-6(7) victory after a closely contested battle.
Sabalenka is ‘proud of’ herself after winning the match
Meanwhile, the Belarusian star argued that the conditions were very tough, and she is proud of herself for managing her emotions during the match.
Three-time Grand Slam winner said post-match, “I am very proud of myself for how I managed my emotions. The conditions were really tough, I struggled to control the ball, and it felt like winning or losing would not depend on tennis but on the mental strength to face adverse situations like the ones we were experiencing.”
“In situations like that, anyone can win, so I doubled my concentration and put my best fighting spirit on the table. It was a great battle, and it's fantastic to still be alive in the tournament,” she further added.
Notably, in order to qualify for the finals, Sabalenka will now face Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina in the semifinals on Friday, May 2, 2025.
