Aryna Sabalenka has recently been stunned by her unseeded opponent, Donna Vekić, in the first-round match at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. But more than her shocking defeat, the Belarusian tennis player’s post-match press conference has caught the attention of the public.

The former world No. 1 player marked a triumphant campaign at the Australian Open, clinching her second Grand Slam title in Melbourne. However, Sabalenka failed to emulate those stellar performances at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, as she faced an initial round defeat. After being knocked out of the tournament, the Belarusian also decided to throw shade at one of her mysterious colleagues on the tour.

“Acting like some of the players….”- Aryna Sabalenka indulges in a nasty jibe at the WTA press conference in Dubai

Donna Vekić pulled off a major upset against the second seed and the 2-time singles Grand Slam champion after making a phenomenal comeback in a three-set thriller, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0. Following her first-round defeat at the Dubai Open, Aryna Sabalenka was asked, “You seem to be taking this in good perspective. You don’t seem too bummed?”

In her post-match press conference, the Belarusian player said candidly that she is just ‘faking it’ as she has been on the tour for a while now. Sabalenka stated, “I’m faking it😂I’ve been on tour for a while. Acting like some of the players – if you know who I’m talking about – being really… against the opponent, being sad here. I passed this stage.”

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Even though she claimed that she was ‘acting’ like some of the players, the reigning Australian Open champion didn’t disclose any of the names of her colleagues on the WTA Tour. As she didn’t mention anything about anyone, fans were left curious to find out who Sabalenka was “referring to,” as one user commented, “Need to know who she was referring to”

In the comments, a fan also took a wild guess by mentioning the Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur, who pulled out of the Dubai Open owing to a knee injury. The fan said, “She’s talking about ONS”

Another fan was curious to find out the name of the WTA player, as she commented, “Who ? 🥲 Feeling dumb Shady saba we like it 😂”

Some fans were quite impressed with Sabalenka’s candid answer in her press conference, as they hailed her as an ‘icon.’ One user said, “oh she’s such an icon ijbol”

Similarly, another fan commented, “lol kinda iconique i’m afraid”

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What do you think of the Belarusian tennis star throwing shade at one of her mysterious peers on the tour? Also, who do you think Sabalenka was referring to? Let us know in the comments section. 

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