Tennis icon Jimmy Connors has come to the defence of Aryna Sabalenka after the world No 1 faced criticism for comments she made after the French Open final.
Sabalenka was beaten 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 by Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final on Saturday, a second straight major final defeat after losing to Madison Keys at the Australian Open back in January.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was visibly upset when delivering her runner-up speech inside Court Philippe Chatrier, and did not hide her frustration about her performance.
“Obviously, guys [the crowd], this one hurts so much, especially after such a tough two weeks, playing great tennis,” Sabalenka said.
“To show such terrible tennis in the final really hurts. Anyway, congrats Coco, you were a better player than me.
“Well done on a great two weeks and a second Grand Slam, well deserved, You are a fighter and a hard worker, so congrats to you and your team.”
Sabalenka doubled down on her assessment of the match in her press conference shortly afterwards, claiming that she had handed Gauff too many unforced errors.
The Belarusian also controversially claimed that Iga Swiatek, whom she had beaten in the semi-final, would have likely beaten Gauff in the final.
Sabalenka has clarified her comments in recent days, congratulating Gauff in an Instagram story and claiming that she did not mean to disrespect the world No 2.
While she has faced criticism from the likes of Chris Evert, she has also faced criticism from outside the tennis world, with a strong reaction to her comments on social media.
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However, she has now found a welcome form of defence in the form of Connors, who finished as the runner-up at seven Grand Slam tournaments across his career.
Speaking on his podcast Advantage Connors, the eight-time champion claimed most of Sabalenka’s critics “don’t know” what is going through her or any player’s head after such a defeat.
The US icon also suggested that players should be given more time after matches before giving speeches or press conferences.
He said: “After a tough match, whether it’s the finals or the French or Wimbledon or whatever, everyone wants to hear your thoughts right away.
“Maybe it would be better to give you five minutes and let the players take a breath – but they want to hear it right away, they want the scoop. And then they are critical of it.
“That’s why it’s always been a crawl in my whatever. These guys think they know what they are talking about when they have not done it.
“You can sit there and say I have saw this and I have watched so much tennis I know what’s in your mind. You don’t know what’s in my mind! You have no clue.
“And, by the way, not every player has the same thing going through their mind, everybody is an individual. So let the players take a breath sometimes.”
Sabalenka is currently set to return to action at the Berlin Open next week, where she will look to get valuable grass-court matches under her belt ahead of Wimbledon.
Wimbledon is now the only Slam where the Belarusian has not reached the final, having twice been beaten in semi-final matches at the All England Club.
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