Aryna Sabalenka in Hot Water for Controversial Delay After Throwing Her Racket During Cincinnati Open Loss

Aryna Sabalenka’s title drought shows no signs of ending. The World No. 1 has crashed out of the 2026 Cincinnati Open, raising fresh concerns about her form ahead of her US Open title defense.

After a couple of straight-set wins against Australia’s Talia Gibson (6-2, 7-6(2)) and China’s Wang Xinyu (6-1, 6-3), she faced a 7-6(7), 6-4 defeat against emerging Czech star Sára Bejlek on Wednesday, August 19. The late-night match also featured a few emotional outbursts from Sabalenka. At one point, she tossed her racket in frustration, resulting in an unusual delay.

Aryna Sabalenka Criticized for Causing a Delay During Cincinnati Open Defeat

2024 champion Sabalenka made a strong start to her fourth-round match, breaking her 20-year-old opponent’s serve in the opening game. However, the advantage was short-lived, as Bejlek quickly fought back to level the score at 2-2. The Czech then lost her serve again in the seventh game, only to break back immediately and restore parity.

The set went to a tiebreak, where Sabalenka appeared to take control with a comfortable 5-1 lead. However, she was broken three times in a row, allowing Bejlek to turn the momentum in her favor. The Czech also held serve and created another set-point opportunity after failing to convert her first chance in the 12th game.

At this point, Aryna Sabalenka’s frustration boiled over as she flung her racket, sending her string dampener flying. The ball boys quickly noticed and rushed courtside to search for it, while the World No. 1 stood alongside them as Bejlek waited to serve for the set.

After a prolonged delay, Sabalenka eventually pulled a replacement dampener from her bag, and play resumed without any warning from the chair umpire. She managed to break Bejlek’s serve to level the tiebreak, but the Czech player ultimately held her nerve to take the set.

The incident did not sit well with tennis fans, with many questioning the lengthy delay. Even the commentators raised concerns over the ethics of the situation, noting that they would have sympathized with Sabalenka had the dampener fallen off during a point rather than as a result of an outburst.

“Is that a proper delay if you did it by throwing your racket?” the commentator was heard saying. “Surely she has another one in her bag.”

“This is not a time violation???” one fan wondered on X.

“If you throw your racket in frustration and the vibration dampener on it goes flying into the abyss, then yea, every second you waste looking around for it or trying to find a new one should count against you,” another individual responded.

“Making Bejlek wait to serve set point because Sabalenka spiked her racket and lost her string dampener is wrong. Of course Bejlek missed the first, and of course Sabalenka cranked a winner off the return of the 2nd,” one person wrote.

“Absolutely ridiculous she didn’t get any sort of violation for that,” one fan said.

Sabalenka, who has not won a title since the Miami Open in March, was looking to match her quarterfinal run from last year in Cincinnati. She held a 4-1 lead in the second set but didn’t win a single game thereafter.

MORE: Aryna Sabalenka Gives Honest Answer on Whether Men Would Face the Same Scrutiny As Her for Showing Emotions on Court

The World No. 1’s fourth-round exit puts her ranking at risk, with Elena Rybakina still in contention for the title. A run to the final would guarantee Rybakina the top ranking for the first time in her career, and she would enter the US Open as the top seed.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.