At the Rod Laver Arena, Elena Rybakina fought a brutal three-set final against Aryna Sabalenka. It was a display of a rematch of their 2023 final, as they were fighting for more than just the title. Rybakina won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, but the spotlight at the Australian Open shifted to her Belarusian opponent due to a certain mistake from Chris Evert.

During the official broadcast, Evert first praised the Kazakh for her victory, stating, “Because the first time she won her major, Wimbledon, it was just very businesslike and there was really no emotion, but she really looked like she was so happy and so joyful and allowed herself to have some emotions there, and it was really nice to see that.” However, the particular moment came right after it.

“But listen, Ariana Grande…Aryna Sabalenka is not used to, she’s used to having every match on her racket, and she finally came up against an opponent who plays the same way,” Evert said, misspelling Sabalenka’s name, but continued with her critical review of the tennis match.

“She did not have any control over the way Rybakina played. Rybakina just played so well at times, and she had one little letdown, but she never gave up, she never gave up belief, and at the end of the day, she was a more solid player.” Well, Evert’s focus was all over the Kazakh sensation.

Rybakina made an impact in the match the moment she secured the first set. And even if Sabalenka tried to turn the tables, winning the second set, the match ultimately went to the 26-year-old. Both of them shared 92 points, with Sabalenka having an advantage over her opponent in her first serves (63% to 59%). But it was Rybakina’s conversion rate on break points 3/6 that prevailed over the Belarusian’s 2/8.

Coming back to Evert’s broadcasting mistake, there have been many moments before in the sport where the ESPN analyst has come under scrutiny from fans due to her commentary.

Chris Evert caught heat from fans amidst the Aryna Sabalenka-Amanda Anisimova clash

The 2025 Wimbledon was all about the glamour around the SW19, surrounded by celebrities from all over the world. And with Aryna Sabalenka clashing against Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals, the anticipation was huge.

However, what caught more attention than the match itself was Chris Evert’s commentary. The ESPN analyst caught heat from the fans, with many complaints starting since Sabalenka’s earlier match against Emma Raducanu.

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The third-round match at Wimbledon got criticism, as Evert focused more on Raducanu’s personal life. A certain fan even claimed that Evert seemed “more interested and focused on the circulating romance rumours than the actual sports.” As this social media post went viral, it even received a reply from the analyst herself, who said, “Oh, please.”

However, the recent “Ariana Grande” comment that Evert made would be looked at in a humorous light. It was more similar to an average broadcasting error, where anyone involuntarily misspells a name.