World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka concedes she was “pissed off” when called for hindrance because of her grunting during her Australian Open semi-final win.
Sabalenka could not remember previously being penalised for her post-shot noise but lost a point in the opening set against Elina Svitolina when chair umpire Louise Azemar Engzell believed she made two sounds, the latter impacting Svitolina.
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“You go ah, ah-ya. You don’t make the normal sound,” Engzell explained after examining the video and upholding her call.
Sabalenka later clarified whether one continuous sound was permitted and it appeared the answer was yes.
The Belarusian appeared inspired by what she felt was an injustice, breaking Svitolina’s serve in that game before going on to win 6-2 6-3, and admitted as much in her post-match press conference.
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“Oh, that’s actually never happened to me,” Sabalenka said.
“Like, never happened to me, especially with my grunting, that it’s, like – I don’t know. It’s, like, it’s so off I think, and the way that, I don’t know, excel, it’s just because of – I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it.
“It’s just like the ball was deep. The ball was, like, the bounce was wrong, and it was just like the timing. I was excelling, and it just happened naturally.
“Then she called it, and I was, like, What? What is wrong with you?
“I mean, I think it was the wrong call, but whatever. She really – how do I say in a nice way? She really pissed me off, and it’s actually help me and benefit my game. I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game.
“So if she ever want to do it again, like, I want to make sure that she’s not afraid of it. Go ahead, call it. It’s going to help me (laughter).”
Sabalenka is entering her fourth consecutive Australian Open final on Saturday night, with only Martina Hingis (six straight) having qualified for the decider more consecutively at Melbourne Park.