'Too much hugging at the net in tennis': Why racquet smashing Sabalenka lost her cool after final

MELBOURNE: Aryna Sabalenka has defended her petulant behaviour at the end of a thrilling Australian Open final, saying she needed to vent before transitioning into a gracious loser.

The world No.1 and two-time defending champion was the raging hot favourite going into Saturday night's decider against Madison Keys.

But the American 19th seed conquered her grand slam demons in a memorable 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 triumph.

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Sabalenka reacted by smashing her racquet on Rod Laver Arena.

She then sat on her bench with a towel over her head while sobbing.

The Belarusian even briefly walked off the court before regathering herself and giving a classy and typically quirky speech.

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"There definitely was a bit of frustration, because I was so close to achieving something crazy. When you're out there, you're fighting, but it seems like everything (is not) going the way you really want (it) to go," Sabalenka said.

"I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end, just so I could give a speech (and) not stand there being disrespectful," Sabalenka added.

"I was just trying to let it go and be a good person."

Leading tennis commentator Mark Petchey was OK with how it all played out.

"Yeah, she broke the racquet. It's not the perfect look, but you know what, if you're trying to do extraordinary things out there in a sporting environment, in front of 15,000 people and millions around the world, you're probably not going to be normal," Petchey said on Stan Sport's Grand Slam Daily.

"You're going to to be a little different, and that hurt. She showed it. I actually like that, to be honest. I think there's a little too much hugging at the net once you've lost in tennis anyway.

"So she went off, she pulled it back. I thought she did a great speech.

"Fair play to her. It shows the passion, shows how much she cares, and that fight that's made her the best in the world, and it was a great speech. So she certainly turned it around very quickly and reorganised her thoughts."

She had won 20 matches in a row at Melbourne Park, and one more victory on Saturday would have allowed Sabalenka to become the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997-99 to complete a threepeat in Australia.

"It's OK. I mean, I'm the one who knows that after tough losses, there is good wins," Sabalenka said.

"So I'll keep working and make sure that next time, if I'll be in this situation, I'll play definitely better."

This one was certainly close.

Keys won merely one more point than Sabalenka did in the match, 92-91.

They had the same number of winners, 29 apiece.

There was not a break point in the third set until the very last game.

"She played, like, super aggressive. It seemed like everything was going her way," Sabalenka said of the early going.

"I was just trying to put the ball back."

Sabalenka entered the match with an 11-0 record in 2025.

She also had been 4-1 head-to-head against Keys, including a win in the semi-finals of the US Open two years ago.

"Aryna, unbelievable playing. I'm glad I finally got you back," Keys said.

"You're always so tough to play. We always have the craziest matches. So congratulations to you and your team for another amazing grand slam run."

Sabalenka, who was the runner-up in New York to Coco Gauff in 2023 and won that event last September, could not quite leave Australia with what would have been her fourth major trophy overall.

During her speech, she joked with her team.

"As always, that's your fault, guys. I don't want to see you for the next week. I really hate you!" Sabalenka said with a laugh.

"Thank you very much for everything you're doing for me and blah, blah, blah."

- with AP