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Aryna Sabalenka reaching out to her Chinese supporters ahead of her all-important clash against Zheng Qinwen in the Australian Open final has sparked hilarious reactions from tennis fans.
Sabalenka moved just one win away from a successful title defense at the Melbourne Slam, securing a 7-6(2), 6-4 win over Coco Gauff in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Zheng progressed to her maiden Grand Slam final after defeating Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-4.
Ahead of the highly anticipated title clash, the World No. 2 made a return to the Chinese microblogging site Weibo after a three-year hiatus. She expressed her enthusiasm for reconnecting with her Chinese fans and encouraged them to tune in to her final against Zheng.
"Excited to be back on Weibo to share my tennis journey with my Chinese fans! It's going to be an exciting final tomorrow, especially against Qinwen Zheng, a tough competitor. I hope you tune in to watch," Aryna Sabalenka posted.
With Aryna Sabalenka having gained a reputation for constantly acknowledging the crowd's atmosphere and support after her wins at the Australian Open, several fans teased the Belarusian for seemingly reaching out to her Chinese supporters to enhance the atmosphere and garner more support in the final.
"One thing about her? She's gonna get the SUPPORT," a fan posted.
"This is the funniest twist yet in her journey to achieve a positive atmosphere," another fan chimed in.
Meanwhile, one fan poked fun at the World No. 2 for attempting to 'recruit' the Chinese fans as a cheer squad for the final.
"Not she hustling putting in work behind the scenes trying to recruit a cheer squad for herself shjshjhj fair fair," the fan commented.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
Aryna Sabalenka on Australian Open final: "Zheng Qinwen is playing really great tennis, it's going to be a great battle"
Following her win over Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka shared her thoughts on taking on either Zheng Qinwen or Dayana Yastremska in the Australian Open final. The Belarusian lavished praise on Zheng's performance in Melbourne and stated that she expected a fierce battle if she came up against the World No. 12 in the final.
"If it's Zheng, I think we played once but we practiced a lot. We actually practiced here before the tournament, and she's playing really great tennis. She's really nice girl and really playing really great tennis once again. It's going to be great battle if I'm gonna face her," she said in her post-match press conference.
The World No. 2 also opened up about being the defending champion in Melbourne, disclosing that she was deliberately ignoring the pressure of a title defense and redirecting her focus elsewhere.
"I don't know, not like I'm ignoring the pressure. I'm just shifting my focus and it's working well so far," Aryna Sabalenka said.
"Yeah, I think I'm pretty calm inside that I'm outside, like you said. As I said before, yeah, I'm defending champion, but worst case, I'm, like, okay, I'm gonna lose this tournament, and it's less points to defend next year. Then that's it," she added.
Aryna Sabalenka enjoys a 1-0 head-to-head lead against Zheng Qinwen, having secured a 6-1, 6-4 win in their sole previous encounter in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open.
