Tennis Rumor: Fan Speculations Skyrocket as Aryna Sabalenka’s Forgotten Controversy with Serena Williams Resurfaced

 

 

Is the Sabalenka-Williams controversy a forgotten chapter or still relevant in today’s tennis world?

 

 

It’s said ‘Never meet your heroes’. While some proudly debunk the negative connotations that come with it, Aryna Sabalenka thought she was one of the lucky ones when she met Serena Williams. In their solitary meeting on the court, Williams defeated Sabalenka in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2021. But two years later, the two were involved in a controversy.

 

Watch What’s Trending Now!

Last October, Sabalenka and Williams, along with Caroline Wozniacki, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, and entrepreneur David Grutman, came together for a restaurant launch in Miami. Sabalenka posted a few pictures of the event to her Instagram, the second of which featured Williams on the left. It’s still on her Instagram feed from Oct 21, 2023.

 

But reportedly Williams posted the same picture to her account as well, with the Belarusian player quite literally cropped out of the picture. It was just Serena, Wozniacki, and David Grutman. Although the controversy happened last year, a fan dug up the pictures and posted them on X again. The American player seems to have deleted it from her Instagram now.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Article continues below this ad

 

 

 

What’s your reaction?

Did Aryna Sabalenka just reignite her feud with Serena Williams? React!

 

 

 

 

 

Reactions

 

Like

 

30

 

Dislike

 

28

 

Love

 

14

 

Angry

 

14

 

everyone remembers where they were 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/SfBkQhLwPU

 

— Serena’s snatched wig (@Danidilo2) September 6, 2024

 

Expand Tweet

 

Other than their solitary Australian Open meeting, Sabalenka and Williams don’t have a deep history. Both have had some commonalities in their gameplay as assessed by fans and pundits alike. But with the sheer power with which both players hit the ball, even Williams knew she was in for a tough battle when she faced Sabalenka.

 

“It was definitely a lot of power,” said the American at the time. “I think, if anything, it was definitely power, but I’m used to it in practice. I know how to get them. I was okay with it really. If she wants to play power, let’s go.”

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Article continues below this ad

 

What’s your perspective on:

Is the Sabalenka-Williams controversy a forgotten chapter or still relevant in today’s tennis world?

 

Have an interesting take?

 

Debate

 

Since then, the two have not been spotted together too often except for the 2023 meeting. And to this day it’s unclear what exactly prompted Williams to cut out Sabalenka from the picture that she posted on Instagram. An accidental moment of social media clumsiness when she wanted to zoom in? Some think it was definitely fishy, but who’s to clarify? Nevertheless, their similar styles of on-court play often bring the two names together again.

 

Sabalenka has now become the second player since Williams to play back-to-back finals of the US Open. The American did it in 2018-19, although she lost both times. Sabalenka lost to Coco Gauff last year and will face another American, Jessica Pegula this year. Even at the Melbourne major in January, Sabalenka was the first after Serena to get to two consecutive finals after the American did it in 2016-17. But as of late, this is not their only strange connection.

 

Jessica Pegula mistakes ‘Aryna’ (Sabalenka) for ‘Serena’

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Article continues below this ad

 

At the recently concluded Cincinnati Open, Jessica Pegula faced Aryna Sabalenka in the final. There the Belarusian prevailed in a tough match and in a hilarious post-match moment, Pegula sent the Belarusian laughing.

 

“Thank you guys,” Pegula said in her post-match speech. “First, congratulations to Aryna. Funny, Andrew said Aryna and I thought he said Serena. But it felt like Serena today with the way you were serving there for a little bit. I don’t know, I may have wanted Serena instead of Aryna today – but congrats to you.”

 

What’s worth noting, however, is that in their sole meeting on the court in the Final Round at the ASB Classic in 2020, Serena Williams was the winner vs Pegula! Now as Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka set up another meeting at Flushing Meadows, the American will definitely be looking to avenge the Cincinnati loss. Who do you think will win the US Open final between them? Let us know in the comments.

 

Share this with a friend:

 

Written by

 

Arunima Bhanot

 

1173

Articles

Uplifting the Tennis Talk

My tryst with MLB was accidental, but what followed was nothing short of a pursuit of excellence. Having penned over 1,000 articles, I’ve written about the key figures EssentiallySports regularly features, including Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Mike Trout, but Shohei Ohtani is a personal favorite. From New York to Los Angeles, I’ve covered articles spanning all 50 states that have been recognized as Editor’s Picks on multiple occasions.

Know more

Edited by

 

Abhishek Rajan

logo

EssentiallySports is a digital-first sports media house that surfaces the best stories on America’s favorite sports celebrities with a fan’s perspective to 30+ M average monthly readers.

 

Sports

 

All

 

Boxing

 

Golf

 

NASCAR

 

NBA

 

NFL

 

Tennis

 

UFC

 

WNBA

 

College Football

 

EssentiallySports

 

About Us

 

Advertise With Us

 

Authors

 

Editorial Team

 

Behind The Scenes

 

Humans of EssentiallySports

 

Contact Us

 

FAQs

 

Our Brands

 

FanCast

 

On The Ropes

 

Bodybuilding Bros

 

Club Golf

 

Lucky Dog on Track

 

Privacy Policy

 

ES Pressroom

 

Ethics Policy

 

Fact-Checking Pol

icy

 

Corrections Policy

 

Cookies Policy

 

GDPR Compliance

 

Terms of Use

 

Editorial Guidelines

 

Ownership and funding Information

 

Full Spectrum Services LLP © 2024 | All Rights Reserved