Quote of the Day: Aryna Sabalenka forgets tiebreak rule, celebrates early in US Open semifinal - “I was just all over the place!”
A few points later, Sabalenka celebrated for real—and later told press she would have been "struggling with sleep" for days if her misstep resulted in a Madison Keys upset.
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It’s been over a year since the four Grand Slam tournaments agreed to use a 10-point final set tiebreaker—but a few players are still having trouble remembering that rule.
As a closely contested US Open semifinal clash between Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys came down to the wire, the No. 2 seed found herself edging ahead in the decider. Once the tiebreak score read 7-3, an elated Sabalenka dropped her racquet and covered her face in celebration—only to quickly realize her mistake.
After her team, lead by coach Anton Dubrov, frantically gestured to her that it wasn’t over yet, Sabalenka made her way back to the baseline to play out the next few points.
“Actually I thought that we play tiebreak up to seven,” she admitted with a sheepish smile during her on-court interview. “I don’t know! I was just all over the place, it was crazy.
“Thanks team for reminding me that it’s actually up to 10!”
While she managed to close out the victory a few points later—clinching a massive 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (10-5) comeback in the process—she didn’t even want to think about what would happen if she hadn’t won after her premature celebration:
Q. I know you joked about it after the match a little bit on court, but when you thought the match had ended, how did you get yourself back into the match to play those final points?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Honestly, I was thinking that if I'm going to lose this semifinal, I'll be struggling with sleep for I don't know how many days! And I was just, like, I don't want this to happen. I need some sleep, and I need to be fine, you know, (smiling).
_I was just, like, come on, keep trying, keep pushing. I don't know, do something extra. Just try to turn around this match. _
I think this kind of thinking really helped me to stay in the game and to keep trying, keep pushing, to still have this belief that I have a chance to turn around this match.
After fighting past an inspired Keys on her way to her first US Open final, the reigning Australian Open champion will face Coco Gauff on Saturday as she seeks her second hard-court Grand Slam title.
“Going into this final, I think I just have to focus on myself and prepare myself for another fight,” she said. “No matter what, just keep fighting and keep playing my best and do my best.
“You know, what else can you do? You just have to be there and you have to fight for it.”