It’s been a thunderous year for Aryna Sabalenka, yet one lined with heartbreak at the brink of glory. Two Grand Slam finals, one under the Australian sun and another on the red clay of Paris, slipped through her grasp. Now, her crushing 6-3, 7-6(0) defeat to Elena Rybakina in the WTA Finals adds another scar to a season of near misses. Visibly emotional, Sabalenka’s post-match words carried the weight of a fighter bruised but unbroken. Yet, as the dust began to settle, whispers turned to fire as Aryna Sabalenka was caught taking a dig at Rybakina.

After the final point slipped away, Aryna Sabalenka walked slowly toward her chair, shoulders heavy, eyes hollow. The silence around her felt deafening. For a warrior who has lived her season on the edge of greatness, this kind of loss cuts deep. The four-time Grand Slam champion sat down, her emotions spilling out like cracks in her armor. The weight of a year filled with heartbreak and near-misses finally caught up to her. She had fought like she always does, with fury and fire, but this time, it wasn’t enough.

As her team tried to console her, Sabalenka muttered a line that would soon echo across the tennis world: “Once a year even the stick shoots.” A Russian proverb, laced with sting and frustration. It implies that someone not particularly skilled or deserving might still stumble upon success once in a while. In that instant, the words seemed aimed directly at Elena Rybakina. 

The remark, uttered in defeat, carried the bitterness of a champion undone by circumstance. Yet the reality was harsh; on that night in Riyadh, Rybakina earned every ounce of her victory. The two had been battling not only for the $5.23 million winner’s purse but also for the full 1,500 ranking points reserved for perfection at the WTA Finals. Rybakina, in all her poise and precision, swept through the week undefeated, crushing Sabalenka to claim her maiden WTA Finals crown.

For Sabalenka, the loss felt like déjà vu, another final, another heartbreak. Her shots carried power, but her precision wavered. Rybakina, calm and calculated, pounced on every lapse, turning defense into dominance. It wasn’t just a battle of strokes; it was a clash of mental fortitude. And on that night, Rybakina’s composure conquered Sabalenka’s storm.

Their rivalry, already one of women’s tennis’s fiercest, took on new meaning. Though Sabalenka still leads their H2H 9-7, the margin is razor-thin. This season, it’s dead even at 2-2. Yet in finals, where the stakes are blood and glory, Rybakina now reigns 3-1. Since their showdown at the 2023 Australian Open, which Sabalenka won for her maiden Slam, Rybakina has claimed revenge in Indian Wells, Brisbane, and now Riyadh.

For Rybakina, this was redemption. For Sabalenka, it was a reflection. She has built a legacy of resilience, but the sting of falling short again was unmistakable.

As the night drew to a close, Sabalenka didn’t leave her frustration behind on the court; she carried it into her words, raw and unfiltered, a champion wounded yet far from broken. And this isn’t the first time fans have seen Sabalenka’s vulnerable side emerge after a crushing final defeat.

When Sabalenka slammed Coco Gauff after the French Open loss

It has been nearly five months since that storm first broke, the day Aryna Sabalenka’s emotions spilled over after her crushing French Open loss to Coco Gauff. The World No. 1, shattered by the result, couldn’t hold back her frustration and took a sharp jab at her rival. “I think she won the match not because she played incredible, but because I made all those mistakes.” Those words, raw and unguarded, sparked an uproar that echoed across the tennis world.

Backlash came swiftly, questioning her sportsmanship and unwillingness to credit Gauff’s brilliance on Court Philippe-Chatrier. But Sabalenka, never one to hide behind façades, eventually faced the storm head-on. 

At the US Open, she issued her final words on the controversy, closing that painful chapter once and for all. “What happened in Paris definitely not going to happen here and not ever. I learned that lesson, and I will never behave that way. It’s not me, you know. I was super emotional, I let it go and let emotions take control over me and it’s not who I am and it’s never going to happen again.”

Those were the words of reflection, not weakness. A glimpse of a fighter learning to wrestle not just opponents, but her own emotions.

Even before the WTA Finals 2025 in Riyadh, Sabalenka spoke with rare honesty to The National News, tracing her emotional evolution through the season. “There was terrible control over my emotions,” she admitted, referring to her losses to Madison Keys in Melbourne and Coco Gauff in Roland Garros.

In that same breath, she unveiled the wisdom earned through heartbreak. “I think the main lesson that I learnt is that no matter what, doesn’t matter how I feel, how frustrated I am inside, I still have to try to stay calm and try to think clear, just try to focus on the plan that I have for the match. No matter what, stay in control.”

Now, as a new season looms just months away, it will be time for Aryna Sabalenka to shed the remnants of frustration and rise again stronger, calmer, and perhaps even more dangerous.