They say that tastes cannot be discussed and, starting from this, Cristian Tudor Popescu, a tennis fanatic, has certain preferences, but also players he cannot stand. In the second category is one of the best athletes in the women's circuit at the moment. We are talking about Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus, 25 years old, 2 WTA).
Aryna Sabalenka
Her track record includes two Grand Slam trophies, won at the Australian Open 2023 and 2024. And in the other major tournaments, Aryna has done very well so far, with a semi-final at the French Open (2023), two appearances in the ace box at Wimbledon (2021, 2023), plus a lost final at the US Open (2023).
Despite these remarkable results, Sabalenka is considered an unwatchable player by Cristian Tudor Popescu. Who, however, had to watch her performance, for the sake of Emma Răducanu (Great Britain, 21 years old, 250 WTA). The two faced each other in the third round at Indian Wells and, as expected, Răducanu was defeated in a minimum of sets: 3-6, 5-7.
After this match, which sent Sabalenka to the round of 16 – the duel with the American Emma Navarro (22 years old, 23 WTA) follows – Cristian Tudor Popescu wrote a short comment on his Facebook page in which he explained that, how how Aryna behaves on the field, she should be penalized.
What did Cristian Tudor Popescu write?
*Women's tennis? I don't watch Sabalenka's matches. I am literally disgusted by the brute force, the height, the animal howls of Belarus. I made an exception for Emma Răducanu, an elegant, technical player with a normal physique, whose tennis I like a lot even when she loses.
*Sabalenka won 6-2, 7-5, but relying on outrageous injustices. He served 8 or 9 aces, and I don't know how many half aces. When he needed it, he went out with the service. At 1.82m and 80kg it's not too hard to do that. This advantage, which has nothing to do with player value, could be greatly diminished by removing the 2 serve from regulation. Then Sabalenka and others like her on a single serve will certainly not produce as many aces.
*Then the long, “Aaaaaa!”, probably copied from the attack cries of Lukashenko's army, overlap with the preparation for the strike, even with the opponent's strike. Which is incorrect. According to the rules, it is not allowed for a player to be disturbed by noise when hitting the ball. What Sabalenka is doing is the same as the shouts of an insul from the stands during Emma Răducanu's game, only the insul is on the field! Just as the referee should order the individual to be removed from the stand, Sabalenka should be given a warning and then point lost. The means of the Belarusian beauty are good for her and bad for tennis, especially for women.
