A broken racket, a $7,500 penalty, and one former world No. 1's belief that the entire incident was too much of a big deal. The fallout from Aryna Sabalenka's US Open final loss has split opinion right down the middle.

"I mean, I can't imagine being an adult seeing that and then going to a social media account and being like, 'I can't believe she broke her racket.' Come on. What are we doing?" former US Open champion Andy Roddick said on his podcast, "Served."

Sabalenka threw her racket and swore at one of the camera people during the match, which ended 4-6, 7-5, 2-6 against Elena Rybakina in the finals. The outburst resulted in her losing the number one position, which she had been holding for 99 weeks consecutively.

While making his case, Roddick clearly distinguished frustration from disrespect.

"The mistake she's made before, and we called her out on the show about it, is being disrespectful, salty, or taking credit away from your opponent in a public fashion," he said, referencing her reaction after losing the 2025 French Open final to Coco Gauff.

The comparison to the French Open is important because Sabalenka faced much harsher criticism there than she does now.

She concentrated on her own unforced errors rather than acknowledging Gauff, later issuing a written apology for remarks she described as "completely unprofessional."

Sabalenka did not make that mistake in New York despite her rage erupting physically.

However, she still managed to compliment Rybakina immediately after the game, saying "she was simply a better player today than me," while adding that "she wanted to let all of that aggression and disappointment go outside."

The whole of Roddick's point is based on how a player channels that frustration.

Why the USTA Fined Sabalenka Despite Her Post-Match Comments

That difference between anger and disrespect is precisely why the USTA handbook was written.

Sabalenka's penalty was for one violation of the code involving racket abuse; however, her verbal outbursts also included ball abuse since she threw a ball into the crowd at some point during the game.

This $7,500 penalty pales in comparison with her $2.8 million consolation prize and is only one of the 20 total players penalized at the 2026 tournament, equally divided among racket abuse and other penalties such as verbal obscenity.

Her background provides additional information on why this particular instance caught so much attention, due to her racket smashing after her loss at the 2023 US Open to Gauff and racket throwing after her loss in the 2025 Australian Open finals to Madison Keys.

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Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta