I should start out by saying that I do not know Russian, and I am not a good lip reader.
That means I am relying on the internet, for better or worse, to figure out what Aryna Sabalenka was saying while crying in her chair after losing the WTA Finals to Elena Rybakina.
We know that Sabalenka has been emotional amid tough losses this year. That is understandable given the high stakes and physical and emotional energy expended to be World No. 1 in professional women’s tennis.
Her sportsmanship has come into question in several instances including while bashing a racquet at the Australian Open after losing to Madison Keys, during her speech at the French Open after losing to Coco Gauff, and with a racquet throwing scene at the Wuhan Open that came dangerously close to hitting a ball kid.
belarusian tennis player and world number one aryna sabalenka gets mad and almost hits a ball kid with her racket, absolutely shocking behavior😳 pic.twitter.com/GAwwL0xQK8
— szymon (@iloveanisimova) October 11, 2025
What Sabalenka May Have Said After Losing WTA Finals
Lip readers and those who know Russian believe she said “Once a year even a stick shoots.”
Not cool, Aryna Sabalenka. Not cool.
After losing to Elena Rybakina in Riyadh, Sabalenka used a Russian saying: “Once a year even a stick shoots.” pic.twitter.com/maJL64tTua
— rybafan (@rybafan) November 9, 2025
This is a similar adage to “even a blind squirrel finds the nut.”
Sabalenka is believed to have said something similar at the 2023 US Open in a match against Madison Keys.
The last time Aryna Sabalenka played Madison Keys at a Grand Slam, Sabalenka was caught shouting to her box:
“Once a year, even a stick shoots. Why does this happen in a semifinal?!” – with some explicit language to her team
What will their Melbourne final bring?🤔 pic.twitter.com/H4trl9JAuA
— Ukrainian Tennis • BTU (@ukrtennis_eng) January 23, 2025
Aryna Sabalenka is a great player who had a tremendous year. As World No. 1, she has to be able to manage her on-court emotions in defeat and let it out privately afterwords far away from the cameras.
