Aryna Sabalenka outburst punished by umpire just minutes into US Open final

Aryna Sabalenka was hit with a code violation just a few minutes into the US Open final, as she whacked a ball away in frustration after getting broken by Elena Rybakina. The two-time defending champion survived a tough service game to lead 2-1, saving three break points.

But she finally succumbed, double-faulting in her next service game to hand Rybakina the break. Sabalenka immediately hit a ball into the air as she returned to her bench, and chair umpire Greg Allensworth announced a code violation for ball abuse.

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“It’s a break for Rybakina, and it’s a code violation to Sabalenka,” commentator Naomi Cavaday said on Sky Sports. “So we just saw the break of serve, Rybakina now leading 3-2. Sabalenka fired a ball out into the stadium, so she picked up a code violation for ball abuse.”

Martina Navratilova replied: “She didn’t hit it that hard, but once it leaves the space of the tennis court, it’s an automatic code violation. So if she throws a racket, gets upset, that will be a point penalty. So she needs to be on her best behavior.

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“But that’s not her problem. The problem is the Rybakina serve. Sabalenka has not been able to neutralise that, and at the same time, her own serve has been attacked already.”

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It was no surprise that Sabalenka felt frustrated early on. She struggled to land her first serves and had already saved three break points before getting broken in the fifth game.

Rybakina, meanwhile, got off to a flawless start. It took until the 25th minute of the match for the second seed to hit her first unforced error. The two-time Grand Slam champion quickly held to love to extend her lead to 4-2 after that code violation for Sabalenka.

The Belarusian finally had a small look at a Rybakina service game at 4-3. She got to deuce, but then hit two unforced errors, allowing the 27-year-old to move within a game of winning the first set.

And Rybakina swiftly served out the opening set 6-4 in just 44 minutes. She hit only five unforced errors, while Sabalenka made 15 mistakes. The No. 1 seed left the court for a bathroom break as soon as she lost the set, needing to regroup.

There’s a lot on the line for the 28-year-old. She is looking to become just the third woman in the Open Era to win three straight US Open titles after Serena Williams and Chris Evert. Rybakina has already overtaken her in the rankings – she will be the new world No. 1 come Monday – but Sabalenka won’t want to give up her US Open crown, too.

Sabalenka finally managed to get a breakthrough at the end of the second set, breaking Rybakina for the first time to take it 7-5, forcing a decider. But her reign in New York finally came to an end, as she suffered a 6-4 5-7 6-2 defeat, and had to fight through tears as she addressed the crowd.

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