"Aryna Sabalenka is a really sore loser" - Fans criticize World No. 1 after alleged Russian comments 'disrespecting' Elena Rybakina at WTA Finals

Aryna Sabalenka's time at the WTA Finals may have come to an end, but talk about her exit in Riyadh are still going strong after a new video allegedly showed her 'disrespecting' opponent Elena Rybakina after the loss in the final. Sabalenka, the year-end World No. 1, suffered a straight-sets defeat to Rybakina on Saturday, continuing her win-less streak at the year-end tournament.

Sabakenka came into the final with a clean sweep in her previous four matches at the WTA Finals, having beaten the likes of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. A win against Rybakina would have fetched her a record $5.2 million prize money, which instead went to Rybakina. Rybakina, also coming into the final with a 4-0 record, won 6-3, 7-6(0) to win the biggest title of her career since Wimbledon in 2023.

After the loss, a new video on social media showed Sabalenka insinuating that Rybakina was lucky on the day, allegedly making the comment in Russian to her team.

"Once a year even a stick shoots" -- this is the Russian expression fans agree Sabalenka used to talk about Rybakina's flawless display on the night. Essentially, the idiom means someone achieved their success more as a fluke than on the merit of their own ability.

Here is a video of the incident:

Fans did not take kindly to the matter at hand, calling Aryna Sabalenka a sore loser who did not show enough respect to her opponents and acting 'entitled' instead. Some thought this was a regular problem with Sabalenka after losses, accusing her of saying the same about other opponents earlier as well and not acting like a good model as a WTA leader.

"Dude when will she stop acting like this? you’re world #1 and you win a lot every year. be respectful the one time people beat you," one fan said.

"She is a really sore loser. She always feels entitled. She always thinks that it is her right to win thé big tournaments," another said.

Here are a few more reactions from fans:

"Sabalenka is a bad bad loser."

"Why do Saba fans drag Iga as a bad loser when she's the worst loser on tour and has proven it multiple times this year? She should be used to losing big finals by now with all the experience she's had."

"Saba said the same thing about Keys during their US Open 2023 match, always disrespecting her WTA colleagues, she has respect only for ATP clownish abusers, ridiculous leader for women tennis."

"Apparently Iga is a sore loser...🤔😉🤡"

Sabalenka, despite the loss in the final of the WTA Finals, has a 8-6 lead over Elena Rybakina in their head-to-head record.

Elena Rybakina ends season at World No. 5, Aryna Sabalenka remains World No. 1

Following the win at the WTA Finals, Elena Rybakina will finish the 2025 season at the World No. 5 spot, up one position from where she was last week. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka will finish as the World No. 1 for the second year in a row, and spent the whole of the year at the top of the WTA rankings.

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will finish as the World No. 2 and World No. 3 respectively, followed by Amanda Anisimova at World No. 4 for her best ever finish to a season.

Edited by Shyam Kamal