Aryna Sabalenka didn’t hold back in her post-match comments after she started the defence of her US Open title with a 6-2, 6-4 win against Camila Osorio.
The world No. 1 has had a challenging few months, including a host of unexpected defeats, including losses at the French Open and Wimbledon that rocked her confidence.
She headed into the US Open on the back of defeats against Sara Bejlek at the Cincinnati Open and Ekaterina Alexandrova, with plenty of critics suggesting she has been spending too much time working with sponsors amid a barrage of product launches in the week before the US Open.
Sabalenka’s basketball-inspired US Open dress has also been the top of debate in recent days, with plenty of criticism floating around for the outfit on social media platforms.
When asked about that negativity on Sky Sports, the US Open champion appeared to be ready to unleash her views and she spoke with plenty of passion.
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Sky Sports presenter Gigi Salmon asked Sabalenka to respond to the criticism coming her way, with a question that gave her plenty of scope to respond.
“Everyone has an opinion on what you eat, on what you wear, on how you play, on how you live your life,” said Salmon.
“How good are you at just putting that to one side and not listening and just letting it go over your head and just do what you do?”
Sabalenka’s response left little to the imagination as she said: “Honestly, it took me a little while to shut down those noises. It’s always going to be people who support your choices, people who go against that, people who love you, who hate you. And I’m like, I’m so tired of those miserable haters.
“So I decided to stay really, you know, stay strong with myself and trust the process, trust myself, trust with my choices, with my taste, and whatever. And whoever loves me, they’re going to be there for me no matter what.
“Haters? Honestly, I don’t want to curse here right now, but they can go and have fun with their own lives
“Whatever people are saying on the internet, I heard they probably didn’t like it.”
On her dress she added: “It’s funny for me, because when Nike was, like, pretty simple and standard, they were complaining.
“When Nike went really cool and fun and trying to get back, they always complain. So who cares about people, right? All that matters for me is that I love it.”
Sabalenka turned in a powerful performance against Osorio and she will be keen to let her tennis do the talking over the course of the next two weeks.
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