Last year, after the 2024 Wimbledon final in which Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic, the All England Club imposed a severe fine on the Serbian for smashing his racket against one of the posts that hold up the net on Centre Court. There was no mercy and the Wimbledon organisation fined the Serb $8,000 for his unsportsmanlike conduct.
A warning, of course, that has caused the tennis players to control themselves more in this edition when it comes to their emotions. And about that, after a great victory against Raducanu in the third round, Aryna Sabalenka spoke
“I thought other players, or even you, years ago, would have ended today with rackets smashed,” a journalist asked the Belarusian, number one in the WTA ranking. And she responded clearly: “The fine is quite decisive here”. She admits it was a “difficult situation” but “I was just trying to contain my emotions”.
I was just trying to contain my emotions
And he also explained about not celebrating the first set: “The truth is that I didn’t have the energy to shout. I just think it was a minute and a half. You don’t have to waste energy. I greeted my team with a fist bump. I told them, ‘Well, silence. Save everything you have left, just save it.’ Yes, the work is not finished. It’s only the first set, so that’s probably why I kept quiet. Even after winning the match, I was tired of shouting.”
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