In one of the biggest women’s matches of this year’s SW19 so far, Naomi Osaka delivered a stunning 6-2, 7-6(2) win to knock out Aryna Sabalenka. The final result was even more striking, as it marked the former world No. 1’s first victory at the iconic Centre Court and sent her into the Quarters. But while one star marched on at Wimbledon, the defeated top seed walked into a fresh storm as her post-match press conference sparked fan outrage.

“Let’s just look at the rankings,” Sabalenka stated in her post-match press conference.

“By now, I am world No. 1. Level-wise today, I wasn’t world No. 1. Yesterday I was world No. 1. I feel like I don’t even want to think about ranking at this point. I just want to go get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape,” the Belarusian said when asked whether she still felt like the top seed after the loss at Centre Court.

That comment immediately sparked backlash online, with fans calling her out after the press conference. And as for the tennis, the straight-sets loss never really looked like a performance from a player at her best.

The Japanese ace had already lost to the Belarusian 3 times this year, so her sharp start made it clear that she had no intention of letting that happen again on Sunday at SW19.

It was not only Osaka’s first win over the current world No. 1 this year. It was also her first victory over the Belarusian top seed in eight years, dating back to the US Open 2018.

By beating the two-time US Open winner, Osaka also ended a 3-match losing run in their H2H battle. The result carried even bigger weight because it also snapped the Belarusian’s streak of 14 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in majors she entered.

That run had stretched all the way back to the US Open four years ago, underlining just how rare this kind of defeat has been for the top seed.

With this win, the 28-year-old also became only the third Japanese woman in the Open Era to reach the SW19 singles quarterfinals, joining Kimiko Date and Ai Sugiyama.

And with Osaka moving on to face Karolína Muchová tomorrow, Sabalenka’s comments after the match have only added more heat to the fallout from an already huge All-England Club upset.

Fans slam Aryna Sabalenka over her “drunk” remark at SW19

As soon as the post-match press conference began circulating on X, fans started piling in with criticism. Many were quick to call her out, with one fan writing, “She’s world number one in name only. Pathetic. The only thing she’s good at is grunting”.

Another fan joined the backlash and added, “So unlikeable, every interview, Jesus. She can’t stand Osaka, lol. The moment she wins she’s a chatterbox”.

One supporter even admitted she was still the favorite on the WTA tour but still criticized the remark, writing, “She’s probably my favorite on tour, but I never rock with her post-loss interviews.”

And for some fans, the frustration did not come only from what was said after this latest loss. One example can be last year’s Roland Garros final defeat to Coco Gauff. After that match, she had said, “I think she won the match not because she played incredibly. Just because I made all of those mistakes, if you look from the outside, from kind of easy balls.”

Even this year, she had spoken about wanting to quit tennis after her loss to Diana Shnaider; that moment had already drawn attention.

The criticism kept coming, with another fan questioning what kind of message it sends to little girls who look up to her, adding, “She’s a role model to millions of 15-year-old girls, and Sabalenka tells them all, ‘I cope with losing by getting DRUNK’…🤯🤯🤯🤯”

Another fan simply wrote, “Always try to brush away every loss and do nothing to improve on it.”

Now Sabalenka leaves the All England Club and turns her focus toward the American hard-court swing. And as the comments from the fans are arriving, what is your opinion on her recent comment?