Aryna Sabalenka thanked New York City for a ‘warm welcome’ at the US Open on Sunday despite being booed onto court for her opening match of the tournament.
The world No 1 and defending champion received a hostile reception when she walked out for her first-round tie against Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova, which she won in straight sets (7-5, 6-1).
Two months on from her French Open final defeat to Coco Gauff, the American crowd let Sabalenka know they have not forgotten the bitter comments she made about their beloved tennis star on the day, having claimed she only came out on top at Roland Garros due to the mistakes she made.
She has since admitted regretted over her ‘unprofessionalism’ after losing the final and revealed that she reached out to Gauff to apologize.
Sabalenka may well have blocked out the initial boos at Arthur Ashe Stadium after walking onto court in a pair of headphones, and the crowd did not appear to subject her to any more hostility throughout the match.
After she breezed past Masarova to reach the second round, the Belarusian took to Instagram to heap praise on New York tennis fans.
Aryna Sabalenka thanked New York for a ‘warm welcome’ at the US Open despite being booed
The American crowd jeered Sabalenka after she reacted bitterly to her defeat against Coco Gauff (right) in the French Open final over the summer
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She wrote alongside photos of her first-round match: ‘NYC, thank you for the warm welcome. I’m so happy to be back on this court, you gave me goosebumps’.
Sabalenka will take on Russia’s Polina Kudermetova in the second round of the tournament on Wednesday.
As for Gauff, she kicks off her US Open campaign against Australian opponent Ajla Tomljanović in the first round on Tuesday night.
Both Coco and Aryna are looking to bounce back after disappointment at Wimbledon over the summer.
Gauff suffered a shock first-round defeat to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, while Sabalenka was beaten in the semifinals by America’s Amanda Anisimova.