"Needs to get lectured by professor Novak Djokovic" - Fans react to Aryna Sabalenka jokingly calling out US Open crowd's lack of support in final

Aryna Sabalenka playfully airing her grievances with the US Open crowd after her defeat to Coco Gauff in the title clash has sparked a discussion among tennis fans.

On Saturday, September 9, Gauff won her maiden Grand Slam title in New York. She battled back from a set down to claim a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the Belarusian.

Aryna Sabalenka, who is set to become the World No. 1 on Monday, was met with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd during the trophy presentation when she was reminded of her new ranking and asked about her biggest achievement during the 2023 season.

The Belarusian, who was in tears after her defeat, responded by jokingly calling out the fans in attendance, saying that they could have shown her similar support during the match as well.

"You guys could’ve supported like this during the match. I am most proud that I was able to, most of the times, handle my emotions pretty well and focus on myself and not on the ranking. I think this is the best thing about this year," Aryna Sabalenka said.

Several fans humorously suggested that the 25-year-old could benefit from taking lessons from Novak Djokovic on how to compete in the face of hostile crowds.

"She needs to go to school of idgaf about locals school and (get) lectured by professor Novak Djokovic," the fan commented.

"She lost the idgaf war. Novak should teach her," another fan chimed in.

One user questioned how the Belarusian could have expected support from the US Open crowd while competing against the home favorite.

"Coco is on home turf, what were you expecting Sabalenka," the user posted.

Other fans, however, sympathized with Sabalenka and criticized the crowd's "obnoxious" behavior.

"She's not wrong I get it Coco is American but they were obnoxious today," a fan shared.

"She was honestly far more gracious to them than that dreadful crowd deserved," another fan commented.

Here are a few more fan reactions:

"The good news is that it's me against me, the bad one is that I'm still having these issues playing against myself" - Aryna Sabalenka after losing US Open 2023 final

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka reflected on her performance after her defeat. She said that she managed her emotions well in the opening set, staying focused on herself rather than the crowd or Coco Gauff's movement.

"I will say that in the first set I was dealing with my emotions quite good. I was focused on myself, not on the crowd or the way she move. Yeah, definitely she was moving just unbelievable today," Aryna Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference.

However, she admitted to overthinking during the second set, which she believes led to a loss of power in her shots and an increase in unforced errors.

"But then the second set I start probably overthinking, and because of that I start kind of like losing my power. Then she start moving better. I start missing a lot of easy shots," she added.

The 25-year-old also acknowledged that her main opponent was herself, highlighting the negative aspect of grappling with her internal issues during matches.

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," she said.