Aryna Sabalenka found herself on the receiving end of boos from the Wimbledon crowd yesterday after her frustrating fourth-round exit at the hands of Naomi Osaka.
The world number one was beaten in straight sets, going down 6-2 7-6 to the former champion on Centre Court.
It was the moment after match point that really got fans riled up, though.
Sabalenka whacked a ball clean out of the stadium in frustration, sending it sailing over the Centre Court roof.
Aryna Sabalenka was booed off after losing to Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon
|REUTERS
The crowd made their feelings known about the outburst as the Belarusian made her way to shake hands with her opponent.
This defeat marked Sabalenka's earliest exit from a grand slam since the 2022 French Open.
It's also the first time she's lost in straight sets at a major since the 2020 US Open, which really puts into perspective just how dominant she's been.
Osaka managed to end another impressive run too, snapping Sabalenka's streak of 21 consecutive tiebreak wins at grand slam level.
For the Japanese star, it's a brilliant milestone – her first ever Wimbledon quarter-final and her first time reaching the last eight at a slam on anything other than hard courts.
Naomi Osaka is through to the next round of Wimbledon
|REUTERS
The women's draw will crown a new champion for the tenth consecutive year.
Speaking after the match, Sabalenka was refreshingly honest about how she planned to cope with the disappointment.
"I don't even want to think about ranking at this point," she said. "I just want to go get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape."
She also revealed just how close she came to completely losing her composure on court.
"There was couple times where I could just completely lose it," Sabalenka admitted.
"But I was respectful to the grass and to the next players who is going to play there, so I hold myself really good."