The US Open loss was a hard pill to swallow for Aryna Sabalenka. Not only did she lose the World No. 1 ranking to Elena Rybakina, but lost the final to her as well. While the Belarusian was visibly disappointed with herself, her behavior after losing the final was questionable, to say the least. Notably, she angrily threw away her racket before even reaching the net and shaking Rybakina’s hands. Her actions were called out by Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, who believes that such behavior is unacceptable on a tennis court.

“The thing that I have a problem with and I was not a great loser,” she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “Aryna, I feel you, but at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever broken a racket in front of my opponent before I’ve gone to shake their hand, and unfortunately, this has happened a couple of times where she broke her racket right in front of Rybakina as she was walking to the net to receive her. So then your opponent’s like, ‘oh sh*t, do I get out of the way here?’ and that’s very uncomfortable.”

This wasn’t the first time that Sabalenka came under scrutiny for her behavior after losing a Grand Slam final. A similar scene had unfolded at the 2025 Australian Open final, where she lost to Madison Keys. Sabalenka had destroyed her racket on that occasion as well. Stubbs also harked back to the World No. 2’s infamous locker room meltdown after losing the 2023 US Open final to Coco Gauff and pointed out that she seriously needs to change her behavior.

“And then the same thing with Madison Keys, when she lost to Maddie Keys in Australia, remember she just obliterated the racket again right before she shook hands. Do what you did at the US Open a number of years ago when you went into the gym, and you just pummeled that racket and threw it in the garbage.

“And that ended up being a great gift, right? Like a meme for days and weeks and months. But you’ve got to be able to try your best to not do things like that that takes and detracts away from the winner,” she added.

The US Open final against Rybakina was nothing short of a rollercoaster for Sabalenka. Aiming to become just the third woman to complete a three-peat at Flushing Meadows in the Open Era, the Belarusian didn’t have a great start to the match and lost the opening set. But she refused to go down easily and edged Rybakina in the second.

However, Sabalenka’s resilience faded in the decider, and it led to a collapse. She was seen talking to herself at times, and her frustration continued to build throughout the set. It reached a boiling point after Sabalenka lost the match, and she was seen obliterating her racket after the customary handshake.

While Stubbs and many fans have criticized Sabalenka for her post-match behavior, one of Serena Williams’ former coaches has come to her defense and has also justified her actions.

Rick Macci defends Aryna Sabalenka amid mounting criticism over her behavior

Macci believes that it’s completely normal for an emotional player like Sabalenka to break her racket after a painful defeat. This isn’t the first time that she has done so, and thus, Macci doesn’t make too much of it.

“It is ok after the match for Sab (Sabalenka) to break her racquet,” he wrote on X. “She wears her emotions on her sleeve that is ok if you still stay positive and believe. She is such a great ball striker and can beat any player any place face to face. She just has to make sure it is not the one in the mirror.”

The defeat to Rybakina means that Sabalenka has now lost four of her last five Grand Slam finals. The Kazakh had gotten the better of her earlier this year at the Australian Open final as well. This is the first time since 2022 that Sabalenka has failed to win a major throughout the season.

It hasn’t been a great season overall for the World No. 2. She has won three titles so far, but has faltered in the biggest tournaments. Sabalenka can still salvage this season as a few Masters events and the WTA Finals are yet to be played. But she will have to be at the top of her game, to say the least.