"Amanda Anisimova did the same thing" - Fans call out American media over 'clickbaity' criticism of Aryna Sabalenka's controversial act in Wuhan

Aryna Sabalenka recently received bad coverage for nearly hitting a ball kid with her racket during a tough semifinal loss at the Wuhan Open last week. The tennis community has since pointed out the double standards in the Western media's reporting of the incident.

In the deciding set of her last-four encounter against Jessica Pegula in Wuhan, the World No. 1 lost her composure as she launched her racket towards the umpire's chair after being broken at 5-5. The trajectory of the racket was in the direction of a ball kid, and although the latter managed to dodge it, fans on social media subsequently blasted the Belarusian for her actions.

Earlier this week, an article from the New York Post highlighting Aryna Sabalenka's racket throw gained traction on X (formerly Twitter). While many, as expected, hit out at the four-time Major winner, there were a few who defended her as well. One fan pointed out how Amanda Anisimova—USA's higher-ranked women's singles player—didn't receive the same criticism despite committing a similarly "dangerous" act on court.

"Amanda Anisimova did the same thing in Roland Garros. Please write an article about how dangerous she is," the fan wrote on X.

Tennis journalist Bastian Fachan, meanwhile, implored the American publication to focus more on the positive stories in tennis such as Coco Gauff's title run in Wuhan.

"If you’re gonna cover tennis, where’s your tweet on Coco Gauff winning the event? Or is this not clickbaity enough for you?" Fachan insisted.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

"Stop. She didn't do it purposely," one claimed. "Did she hit anyone? no! so disqualify your a**es," another asserted. "Fake news, you should be ashamed," one more fan claimed. "Them americans tryna do everything since their bad press tour in paris didn’t work out for them #desperate," another wrote.

---

Taking a look at when Aryna Sabalenka went viral for smashing racket and throwing them in trash at US Open

Aryna Sabalenka gets comforted after her US Open final loss | Image Souree: Getty

Aryna Sabalenka also lost her temper following a three-set loss to Coco Gauff in the 2023 US Open final. Although the four-time Major winner was relatively composed during the trophy ceremony, apart from tearing up momentarily, her behavior in the locker room gained negative coverage.

In a video broadcast by ESPN, the then-World No. 2 took out her racket and smashed it against the floor before dumping it in the trash can. While many fans criticized her actions then, the fact that such a personal moment was made viral fodder also came into question some time later.

Edited by Rudra Biswas