There has been a lot of drama already at the Italian Open, surrounding some controversial moments involving heated exchanges between the players and the crowd. For example, in Diana Shnaider’s match against Jasmine Paolini, the Russian was spotted engaging in a heated argument with the crowd, making gestures and also yelling at them. Then, even Daniil Medvedev was seen silencing the crowd with a daring hand gesture during his R16 match against Lorenzo Sonego. A similar thing happened even in Alex de Minaur’s match against Luca Nardi. The Aussie was forced to halt play before a serve in that match.

Although the tournament director, Paolo Lorenzi, called these activities from the stand “unacceptable” and also ensured strict action against those hostile spectators, a similar moment of disruptive activity took place in Aryna Sabalenka’s match against Qinwen Zheng. Sabalenka gave a strong reply to the concerned fan, and now her reaction has caught the attention of Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs. What did she say?

Tensions boiled over during this QF clash in Rome. Aryna Sabalenka lost the first set 4-6, and then even in the second one, Zheng got a lead of 1-0, leading 30-0. During that moment, the Belarusian superstar was handed an audible obscenity warning after an altercation with a spectator in the stands. What did actually happen, though? Well, just when Qinwen Zheng was about to serve, a fan was heard yelling, “Come on Aryna, play tennis.” In reply to that, Sabalenka shouted back at the fan, saying, “Shut the f— up!“

Although Aryna Sabalenka got the better of the Chinese six times previously, this time Zheng managed to seal a victory by 6-4,6-3. However, other than the result of this epic battle, Sabalenka’s furious response to the fan became the talk of the town in the tennis world. Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, shared that moment on her X handle, with the caption, “😂 dead!“

The Belarusian tennis star is known for his fiery nature on the court and previously while speaking on this during an interview with Bolsche!, she claimed, “I can say that I am a very unpleasant person on the court, I am downright nasty. Well, not nasty, no, very tenacious, with a character. Probably b—–. In short, a b—h, yes. That’s how they called me here. Probably, I have sporting greed and tenacity.” That’s exactly how the world number one wants to represent herself on the court. Straight on your face! What did both players say after this epic battle, though?

Qinwen Zheng on Aryna Sabalenka: “didn’t face her like a normal player” 

Seventh time is the charm for China’s Qinwen Zheng! Aryna Sabalenka got the better of the Chinese on each of their previous occasions, including the big one, i.e., the 2024 AO final. Even this year, in Miami, Sabalenka defeated her 6-2,7-5. But what changes does Zheng think she has brought in her game, which led her to this massive success against the number one?

“The few times I faced her in the beginning, I gave her too much respect. I didn’t face her like a normal player. I remember I was going to see her in the 2017 China Open … My father was saying ‘Oh, you need to learn about her forehand, her backhand’. I think this kind of respect, it takes a while to treat her like a normal player.” Zheng believes this time she was “more patient” with her approach, and perhaps that’s another thing that brought her success. Next up against her is America’s Coco Gauff. Even against Gauff, she has a 0-2 record. Can she open her account against the American in SF?

Time will tell! But talking about the Belarusian, well, Aryna Sabalenka recently shared glimpses of her time in Rome on her IG account with the caption, “Rome, I always leave with the best memories and a full stomach. Thank you for all the love.” With the French Open knocking at the door, she would have loved to make a long run here, but the Chinese came up with a different plan this time. Do you think Sabalenka has a real chance of winning the title at Roland Garros this year?