Fierce when the points are on the line and a delight once the tension melts away, Aryna Sabalenka lives in two worlds. The World No. 1, famous for her thunderous roar between points, once joked that she’s “not that crazy off-court.” This time at the French Open, she carried that same electric energy straight to her fourth career quarterfinal, winning over the crowd with every grin and witty remark during her on-court interview. But not everyone was pleased this time around.

“I like him, but saying, ‘Will you dance for us?’ is just such a weird thing to ask. I don’t like it,” said Andy Roddick on the latest episode of the Served Podcast. “And then when she does it a little bit and it’s kind of over, to then ask her to moonwalk. I don’t know. Maybe people loved it, and I might be in the minority.”

“Personally, I understand the personality side of these post-match interviews, but it’s just such a lose-lose situation. Props to her for doing it, but I just thought it was weird. I think that’s such a strange thing to ask somebody to do in a professional setting,” the 2003 US Open champion added. 

After Sabalenka’s 7-5, 6-3 victory over Naomi Osaka on Monday night, Santoro cued up music and asked her to dance for the Parisian crowd. She was hesitant but said she would dance if the fans joined her, and she did a step that was appreciated by her fans. But just when she thought it was over, Santoro followed it up with a request for her to moonwalk too. While the crowd responded enthusiastically, Roddick, watching from the outside, wasn’t too pleased. 

“You have limited time to interview the greats, and this is the content you ask for? I’d prefer something with a little bit more depth,” he concluded. 

On-court interviews usually focus on the match, though some try to lighten the mood with discussions that go beyond tennis. As Sabalenka tries to maintain a cheerful attitude post-match, Roddick felt that it might have led the interviewer to breach the boundary in this case.

However, dancing on the court is no new thing for Sabalenka. At the 2025 Australian Open, after beating Sloane Stephens in the first round as the two-time defending champion, interviewer Jelena Dokic played a social media clip Sabalenka had posted pre-tournament and invited her to recreate a TikTok routine with her team on Rod Laver Arena. 

“I’m not the best dancer, but I’ll try my best,” Sabalenka said, before adding: “But only if the whole crowd will join in.” 

The arena obliged. Sabalenka laughed it off afterwards. “Now they have proof that I’m the worst dancer,” she said.

The dancing at this Roland Garros also carried a separate subplot entirely. Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic had been involved in a playful dance-off contest all the way leading up to the centre court during the fortnight, trying to outdo each other with their post-win celebration. It was one of the happier running themes of the tournament till Djokovic lost in the third round to Joao Fonseca and ended his campaign at the event this season.

Sabalenka now faces Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals, with the draw wide open around her and a maiden French Open title closer than it has ever been. However, the trend suggests that she might have to deal with more such awkward interactions in the later stages of the tournament.

Aryna Sabalenka’s Roland Garros media experiences go beyond the dance

The dance moment was not the first time Sabalenka found herself navigating an uncomfortable media situation at this year’s Roland Garros. Following her third-round win, a reporter at her press conference asked whether it was difficult for her to manage an all-male team. The world No.1 handled it with her characteristic humor. 

“I think we really have to ask them how they handle me, because that’s tricky, that’s another question,” she said, before turning directly to her team and asking if being around her was fun. One of them replied, “stressful.” 

Sabalenka jokingly cursed her team before catching herself, remembering she was at a press conference. The moment was lighthearted in the room. However, social media fans weren’t so kind, and many were appalled at the question, saying it was below the dignity of journalism. 

Earlier in the tournament, after her first-round win, Sabalenka was asked whether she might be seen as hypocritical for calling for higher prize money at Grand Slams while wearing expensive diamonds on court. She stood firmly against it, adding that the issue of a more equitable revenue share was not about her but about the next generation and players coming back from injury.

“I don’t really see how it can be possible to cross these two completely different worlds. Prize money is not about me at all. It’s just fighting for lower-ranked players who are really struggling to survive in this tennis world,” she said in the press conference.

It depicts a player who has spent this year’s tournament answering a plethora of questions about things unrelated to tennis. She has handled each question with a different level of patience and humour. What Roddick’s reaction highlighted was that the broadcast area of the sport is as responsible as the press room and that the closing minutes of the first women’s night session on Phillipe Chatrier in three years were not used to their best advantage.

Still, Sabalenka danced anyway, because that is who she is. And it doesn’t seem like she’ll change anytime soon, especially now inching closer to her first clay major title. She’s got plenty to be upbeat about.