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Aryna Sabalenka recently had a tense encounter with a spectator at the Italian Open. As the World No.1 battled Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen in Rome, she exchanged a few choice words with a heckler in the audience, and the interaction left Serena Williams' ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, in splits.
Sabalenka went into the match against Qinwen as the overwhelming favorite for the win. The Belarusian tennis star has led an impressive season in 2025 and held a 6-0 advantage over her Chinese opponent in the head-to-head records. However, on Thursday, May 14, Qinwen turned the tables to register a 6-4, 6-3 win over the World No.1.
During the match, a heckler in the audience yelled at Aryna Sabalenka, asking her to ‘play tennis.’ Responding to this, the 27-year-old told the fan to ‘shut the f**k up.’ Reacting to a video of this interaction, Rennae Stubbs wrote on X,
Trending
“Dead 😂.”
For Aryna Sabalenka, this marks her first loss to a Top 10 player in 2025, having previously gone 6-0 this season. On the other hand, for Zheng Qinwen, this win is the first time she has emerged victorious against the Belarusian in seven matches. It also marks the first time she will play the semifinal of the Italian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka shares glimpses of her time in Rome after crashing out of the Italian Open
Aryna Sabalenka arrived at the Italian Open as a front-runner for a title finish. The World No.1 faced off against Sofia Kenin for her opening round match, coming from behind to take a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. The Belarusian then defeated Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in straight sets to move into the quarterfinals, where she went down against Zheng Qinwen.
After her loss against Qinwen, Sabalenka shared glimpses of her time in Rome on Instagram. The post was captioned,
“Rome, I always leave with the best memories and a full stomach. Thank you for all the love.”
Overall, Aryna Sabalenka had had a strong run in 2025. The tennis star kicked off her season title finish at her season opener, the Brisbane International. She then registered a second-place finish at the Australian Open and the Indian Wells Masters. The Belarusian claimed her second title of 2025 at the Miami Open. She followed up on this with a runners-up finish at the Stuttgart Open, before going on to claim her third title of the year at the Madrid Open.
