Aryna Sabalenka has apologised and denied claims that she insulted opponent Elina Svitolina after a viral clip showed her swearing during her WTA Finals defeat by the Ukrainian.
A video of world number two Sabalenka angrily gesturing and swearing in Russian during her 6-3 3-6 6-1 defeat by Ukraine’s Svitolina was posted on social media on Saturday.
Some commentators interpreted Belarusian Sabalenka’s comments as an insult towards Svitolina or Ukrainians in general.
Sabalenka later wrote on social media that “my comment was not directed at Elina” but she lost her temper because of the behaviour of some fans.
“I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment,” the 28-year-old wrote.
“That said, I should have handled my frustration differently, and I apologise to anyone offended.”
Sabalenka said Svitolina had played a great match, adding that she wished her “all the best for the rest of the tournament”.
Ukrainian players have a long-standing policy of not shaking hands with Russian or Belarusian players because of the ongoing invasion of their country.
They also do not take pre-match photographs with each other.