4 controversial French Open press conferences, ft. Serena Williams-Dominic Thiem misunderstanding, Elena Rybakina's curt responses
The French Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments in tennis and has witnessed several great matches since its inception. Rafael Nadal is the most successful singles competitor at the Major with a whopping 14 titles to his name while Chris Evert has won seven, more than any other women's player.
Off the court, there have also seen a number of interesting moments at the French Open. The press conferences at the clay-court Major has had a number of notable moments. There have also been some controversial moments in front of the media where players have been involved, including ones who have been at the top of their game.
On that note, let us take a look at four controversial press conference moments at the French Open.
#4 Aryna Sabalenka, French Open 2023
Aryna Sabalenka reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2023 but the most notable incidents involving her during the tournament happened during the press conference.
The Belarusian started her campaign against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk amid the political unrest in the latter's nation. Ukrainian players opted not to shake hands with their colleagues from Russia and Belarus due to the involvement of the two nations in the conflict.
Kostyuk did not shake Sabalenka's hand after their match, and the latter was often asked about the conflict during her press conferences early in the tournament. In fact, the World No. 2 was asked about her support of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and for not speaking out on the war.
She responded by saying:
"I have no comments to you, so thank you for your question."
Sabalenka ended up skipping her post-match conference after her third-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova. She spoke to a small group of reporters, claiming that she did not feel safe in her previous press conference.
"Yeah, after my match I spoke with the media like I normally do. I know they still expect some questions that are more about the politics and not so much about my tennis," the Belarusian said.
"For many months now I have answered these questions at tournaments and been very clear in my feelings and my thoughts. These questions do not bother me after my matches. I know that I have to provide answers to the media on things not related to my tennis or my matches, but on Wednesday I did not feel safe in press conference," she added.
#3 Elena Rybakina, French Open 2024
Elena Rybakina's responses to being asked repetitive questions is the most recent incident on this list.
The Kazakh entered French Open 2024 seeded fourth and started the tournament with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Belgium's Greet Minnen. During her post-match press conference, Rybakina had very curt responses to the questions, which she found were repetitive.
The former Wimbledon champion was asked about her Roland Garros campaign in 2023, when she withdrew from the tournament due to illness. Rybakina responded by saying that the questions asked to her were same as before, so she could not say anything new.
"For sure, physically I’m much better than last year since I had to withdraw – I had Covid. Of course now I’m much better. I don’t know guys, the questions are quite the same, so I don’t know what to say anymore," the 24-year-old said.
The World No. 4 was also asked what it took to be a Grand Slam champion, a question she found to be simple. Rybakina also gave an answer which she claimed was simple.
"It’s quite basic. You need to work hard; do all the things usually you don’t want to do. I mean, simple question, simple answers. So, guys, something else?" she said.
#2 Serena Williams and Dominic Thiem, French Open 2019
Serena Williams and Dominic Thiem were involved in a bit of press conference-related drama during the 2019 French Open.
The Austrian booked his place in the fourth round of the tournament after beating Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. His post-match press conference was cut short after he was asked to vacate the room for Serena Williams, who lost her third-round meeting against Sofia Kenin.
Thiem was far from pleased with this and stormed out of the room. The Austrian later told Eurosport Germany that the incident reflected a "bad personality" on Serena Williams' part. He added that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would not resort to something like that.
"It is a matter of course. It also shows a bad personality in my opinion. I am 100 percent sure Federer or Nadal would never do something like that," he said.
Serena Williams later spoke about the controversy ahead of that year's Wimbledon Championships. The American said that she asked to be put in the small room but the organizers did not listen to her.
"Yeah, I asked them to put me in the small room. I begged them to put me in the small room, and they didn't. I said, 'Listen, I can come back. I'm just going to go back.' They're like, 'No, stay here,'" Williams said.
"They pulled him out. I was like, 'You guys are so rude to do that,' quote-unquote, that's what I said. The next day I had a bad personality. Literally that's what happened," she added.
Serena Williams also said that she "cleared the air" about the incident with Dominic Thiem.
"Actually stuck up for the guy, so... I don't understand how I got a bad personality for telling them what they did was wrong to him. But we spoke about it. I've always liked him. I still like him. He's a great, like, player. I mean, he's unbelievable," the American said.
"I'm really, quite frankly, too old to be in controversy. That's why I just wanted to clear the air. I'm like, 'Dude, I told them that it wasn't right what they did.' He said he didn't say 'Bad personality', that you guys mixed up his words," she added.
#1 Naomi Osaka, French Open 2021
The 2021 French Open was the tournament during which Naomi Osaka first spoke about her mental health. Prior to the tournament, the Japanese said that she would not take part in any press conferences during the tournament.
"I'm writing this to say I'm not going to do any press during Roland Garros. I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one," Osaka wrote on Twitter.
The Japanese was the second seed at the tournament and reached the second round after beating Patricia Maria Tig. She skipped her post-match press conference and was later fined $15,000 by the Roland Garros referee as a result while also being threatened with default.
Osaka later ended up withdrawing from the French Open.