Daily Fuzz
Partying? Aryna Sabalenka took offense to a question about her pre-tournament brand activations.
Chris OddoSeptember 2, 20262 minute read
Aryna Sabalenka is tired of taking questions from reporters who want to know if she has difficulty switching into tournament mode after a week full of sponsorship activations prior to the US Open.
Her response? Next question.
In each of her last two press conferences the world No.1 has taken the same question about whether or not she finds it difficult to switch into tournament mode after attending so many “parties” while in New York before the open.
She took offense on Wednesday night in the main interview room beneath Arthur Ashe Stadium, and had it out with a reporter.
It’s a bit difficult to explain so we’ll leave a snippet of the transcript and the YouTube video.
Q. 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. Are you —
ARYNA SABALENKA: 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? Just because I posted, like, some activities with brands, and you think that I’ve been partying, not training?
Q. I’m not suggesting that you’re partying. I’m saying that there’s a lot of —
ARYNA SABALENKA: The question, like, what is that?
Q. I’m saying that there are a lot of events and things like that. I’m not saying you go to the parties and that you’re —
ARYNA SABALENKA: You literally said that.
Q. Excuse me?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Next question.
Q. For everyone who is unclear, I’m not suggesting that Aryna is having fun at these parties.
ARYNA SABALENKA: Thanks, yeah.
Q. I’m saying that she makes a lot of appearances and there’s a lot to do and lots of events, okay?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Okay. Move on.
Q. So now that the tournament has started, do you find you’re getting quite serious and combative?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Oh, yeah, I wasn’t serious before that. Next question.
For those who prefer to trust the on-court product, Sabalenka has dropped just eight games in two matches. She defeated Polina Iatchenko 6-1, 6-1 tonight to stretch her US Open winning streak to 15.