Andy Murray's mum hits out at US Open chiefs for releasing "private" footage
Judy Murray has slammed US Open officials for releasing footage of Aryna Sabalenka smashing her racket in the locker room.
The Belarusian reached her first final at Flushing Meadows but was beaten by Coco Gauff, who claimed her maiden Grand Slam on Saturday night. After the match, footage captured Sablenka breaking one of her rackets on the floor of the locker room before throwing it into the bin in disgust.
The video has received a polarising response and Murray, mother of three-time Grand Slam champion Andy, was not happy the clip was posted online, claiming it was intrusive. “This footage should never have been made public,” she wrote. “A private moment in an empty training room after the disappointment of losing a Grand Slam final.”
The 25-year-old began the final by winning the first set 6-2, but Gauff frustrated the hard-hitting player with her superb movement and defensive abilities. Errors began to spring from the Sabalenka racket and she appeared to cry into her towel during a service game toward the end of the final set as attempted to deal with Gauff’s excellent play and the New York crowd supporting the home player.
She eventually suffered a 6-2, 3-6, 2-6 defeat in front of a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium and struggled to speak during the trophy presentation as the tears flowed. During her post-match press conference, Sabalekna spoke about how her emotions got the better of her, as the American crowd and Gauff piled the pressure on in the second and third sets.
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“I would say that in the first set, I was dealing with my emotions quite good,” she said. “I was focused on myself, not on the crowd or the way she moved. I mean definitely she was moving just unbelievable.
“Then in the second set, I probably started to overthink, and because of that, I started kind of like losing my power and she started moving better. I started missing a lot of easy shots. I mean, the good news is that it’s me against me. The bad one is that I’m still having these issues playing against myself. I would say sorry, but that’s okay.
“I’ll work harder, so next time I’m not going to get even a little bit tired on the court, so I’ll be better. Sometimes I can get emotional. Today on the court I was overthinking and I was missing balls I shouldn’t be missing. I got over-emotional after the second set. So, yeah, that’s what I mean — like me against me.”
Judy Murray slammed US Open officials for recording the Sabalenka backstage and claimed those are "private moments" (Getty Images for LTA)Despite losing the US Open final, there is a silver lining for Sabalenka as she is now the new World No. 1. This became official once former No.1 Iga Swiatek failed to defend her title in New York when she exited in the fourth round.
Sablaenka has been the most consistent female player at the Slams this year, which started when she defeated Elena Rybakina to win the Australian Open. Semi-final appearances followed at the French Open and Wimbledon, before finishing as a runner-up at the US Open.
Sabalenka is the 29th woman to hold the Chris Evert World No. 1 trophy and she is ready to embrace the pressure and expectation that comes with being the sport’s top-ranked player. “I think yes,” she said. “I don’t know. Yes, I think so. I think I improved a lot, and I have everything to be No. 1.
“But I don’t want to focus on that. I just want to focus on my game, and I just want to bring my best game every time on the court, and after the season we'll see if I’m ready or not.”
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