ARYNA SABALENKA has issued a grovelling apology after being accused of making a foul-mouthed insult about Ukrainians during her defeat to Elina Svitolina.
The Belarusian superstar, 28, sparked outrage after footage emerged of her appearing to swear in Russian during her shock exit against the Ukrainian on Friday.
It was claimed that appeared to say either “Those f****** Ukrainians” or “That f****** Ukrainian b***h” during .
The allegations were based on lip-reading footage in which her words were inaudible, meaning the precise comment has not been verified.
But the four-time Grand Slam champion has now admitted losing her temper during the match, while insisting her angry outburst was not directed at Svitolina.
Sabalenka wrote on her Instagram Story: “I want to clarify something from my recent match that has been circulating online. My comment was not directed at Elina.”
She continued: “I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment.
“That said, I should have handled my frustration differently, and I apologise to anyone offended.”
The world No2 added: “Elina played a great match, and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
Sabalenka’s apology came after Svitolina defeated her 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in Indian Wells, knocking the Belarusian out of the season-ending competition.
The controversy comes amid the ongoing war in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, which was supported by Belarus.
Ukrainian tennis players have since refused to shake hands or pose for pre-match photographs with Russian and Belarusian opponents.
And Svitolina, 32, addressed the incident after progressing to Sunday’s final, explaining why Ukrainian supporters had been so vocal during her victory over Sabalenka.
She said: “As we see there’s many, many Ukrainians, many, many flags and of course they want me to win this particular match. We’ve played many times with Aryna. She has her fans. I have my fans.”
Svitolina added: “I just hope the matches between us (are) respected. Sometimes in some matches that we’ve played also there have been not great comments towards me in regards of the war.”
