Aryna Sabalenka offers quick rebuttal in televised interview at Wimbledon: ‘I didn’t say that’

Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player, held on for a narrow victory on Tuesday at the All England Club in London.

Sabalenka’s hard-fought victory over Laura Siegemund earned the Belarusian tennis star a spot in the Wimbledon semifinal. While Sabalenka seemed pleased to advance to the next round of the prestigious tournament, after the quarterfinal match she took issue with how her words were interpreted.

Sabalenka was questioned about apparently describing her opponent as “annoying.”

“You had said before hand that Laura has an annoying game in a complimentary way,” a reporter said.

Sabalenka quickly clarified and explained that Siegemund previously described her game as “annoying,” suggesting it created a frustrating experience for those competing against her. 

“I didn’t say that,” the 27-year-old replied. “No, no no, I didn’t say that…. They asked the question that she said that she has an annoying game. I didn’t say that, just to make that clear.”

Sabalenka was eventually asked about how she maintained her confidence during the quarterfinal’s particularly challenging moments.

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“It’s not like it’s an annoying game. It’s a smart game,” Sabalenka said. “She’s really making everyone work against her, and going into the match against her, you know that you have to work for every point.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a big server, if you’re a big hitter, you have to work. You have to run and have to earn the win. Honestly, I was just trying to focus on myself and make sure i don’t give her that energy. I didn’t want her to see that I was annoyed or anything by her, even if I was a little bit at some points. But I was just trying not to give her that energy.”

Amanda Anisimova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the other women’s quarterfinal. Anisimova will face Sabalenka in Thursday’s semifinal.

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