Aryna Sabalenka was very clear on how she feels about Jelena Ostapenko.
The most explosive moment of the US Open occurred on Wednesday when the Latvian took on Taylor Townsend.
The pair were facing one another for the third time and the second time at Flushing Meadows, with a place in the third round on the line.
The American claimed her second victory against the 2017 French Open champion, but the match’s immediate aftermath has somewhat overshadowed the result.
Aryna Sabalenka says Jelena Ostapenko needs to ‘control her emotions’ more
Jelena Ostapenko suffered a 5-7, 1-6 defeat to Townsend at the US Open.
Once the match had concluded, the pair engaged in a heated row after Ostapenko accused her opponent of not apologising after Townsend won a point via a net cord.
The 29-year-old could be heard saying to Ostapenko “you can learn how to take a loss.” Post-match, Townsend claimed the former top 10 player said she had “no class” and “no education.”
One of the players to comment on the incident was Aryna Sabalenka, who told reporters in her latest US Open press conference that Ostapenko needs to do a better job of controlling her emotions.
“I spoke with Jelena after the match, but during our conversation, I still don’t know what happened. She is nice, but sometimes she can lose control,” the WTA’s world number one said.
“She has some things in life to face and some struggles. I was just trying to help her. I don’t know, not to face it in a more mature way, but try and help her settle down and be someone she could speak to and just let it go.
“I think sometimes she can lose control of her emotions which is pretty tough and I really hope that one day she will figure it out herself and handle it much better.
“I think sometimes when you struggle with some things in life it can affect your tennis career and on court you are more unstable.
“You can lose control and you just don’t understand what is going on in the moment. I am pretty sure looking back she is not happy with her behaviour.”
When was Jelena Ostapenko fined for unsportsmanlike conduct?
Ostapenko has at times let her emotions get the better of her, as she illustrated at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
That year she squandered a one-set lead to lose 5-7 7-5 7-5 to Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the fourth round.
This was the first and so far only time that Ostapenko went head-to-head to with Maria, the reigning champion at Queen’s.
She was unable to capitalise on two match points and after succumbing to defeat, Ostapenko threw her water bottle which knocked over a chair.
As a result, she was fined $10,000 (£8,400) which added insult to injury following a crushing defeat at the All-England Club.
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