"So many double faults, you guys are such a bad team" - Aryna Sabalenka makes hilarious quip about 'not thanking' her team after losing to Caroline Garcia in 2022 WTA Finals title match
Aryna Sabalenka's frustration with double faults turned into a hilarious moment in her on-court speech after losing the final of the 2022 WTA Finals to Caroline Garcia. Sabalenka, who stunned Iga Swiatek to reach Monday's final, joked that she would not like to thank her team for a successful WTA Finals campaign as they were "a bad team" who have not worked enough on her serve.
Double faults have cost Sabalenka dearly in an up-and-down 2022 season, with the Belarusian holding the unwanted record for most double faults on the WTA tour this season. While she did very well to navigate through the issue en route to the final, the second serve, unfortunately, let her down in the final, particularly in a crucial first-set tiebreak.
Speaking after a 6-7(4), 4-6 loss to Garcia in the championship match, Sabalenka taunted her team over the double fault issue, before clarifying that she was only joking.
"I’m not going to say thank you to my team because it’s so many double faults, you guys are such a bad team - no, no, no, I’m joking,” Aryna Sabalenka said in her runner-up speech.
An emotional Sabalenka then went on to thank her team for their support during a challenging year.
"It’s been a challenging year for us. Thank you so much for your support," she expressed.
Sabalenka displayed pinpoint accuracy behind her serve throughout the first set but double-faulted twice in important moments during the tiebreak. The second one happened when she was a set point down at 4-6 and the frustration led to an early break of serve in the second set for Garcia. Unfortunately for Sabalenka, Garcia was flawless behind her own serve throughout the match, not facing a single break point.
Sabalenka admitted to a drop in her level during the tiebreak but also highlighted that Garcia played "unbelievable" tennis on the night.
"I just dropped my level for a little bit," Aryna Sabalenka said in her press conference after the match, adding, "On the tiebreak and the first game of the second set. That’s it. I did my best, [but] she played unbelievable tennis."
In the semifinals, Sabalenka produced one of her best performances all season, defeating a dominant Swiatek.
"I wanted to make sure that she knows she has to work hard to get a win" - Aryna Sabalenka on Iga Swiatek
Aryna Sabalenka was on a mission during her 2022 WTA Finals semifinal match against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The world No. 7 entered Sunday's match having lost her last four matches against Swiatek, all this year.
Sabalenka stated that she went in with a mindset of making Swiatek work hard for every point and her aggressive approach helped her eventually beat the top seed. The Polish superstar won her three round-robin matches in dominant fashion.
"I gave her a lot of easy matches this season, and I think that’s enough for her,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview after the match. “I wanted to make sure that, every time she plays against me, she knows she has to work hard to get a win. It was only because of this thinking that I was able to play such an amazing level tonight."
Aryna Sabalenka ends the 2022 season in the top 5 of the WTA Rankings (No. 5) after a strong run in the second half of the season. She missed out on a title but reached three tour-level finals in 2022.