Aryna Sabalenka, who became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to successfully defend the US Open crown, incurred a moment to forget on live television on Sunday after she accidentally called Carlos Alcaraz by Jannik Sinner’s name. The awkward slip-up happened the morning after Alcaraz beat Sinner in four sets to reclaim the US Open men’s singles title for the second time in his career.
Following their respective singles title wins at the Flushing Meadows over the weekend, Sabalenka and Alcaraz were invited to ‘Today’ in their morning segment to talk about their trophy hauls and their campaign. Sabalenka discussed matching Serena’s feat after beating American Amanda Anisimova in straight sets in the final on Saturday, while Alcaraz opened up on his rivalry against Sinner and how it has helped him become a better player.
In the final question, the Belarusian was asked about his TikTok videos, and Sabalenka revealed that the two champions were due to make a video for social media. It was then that the world No. 1 mistakenly called the Spaniard “Sinner.” The room froze for a moment as the men’s champion, seated right next to her, rose from his chair and pretended to leave, leaving Sabalenka visibly embarrassed and open-mouthed. Alcaraz, however, played it off in good spirits, saying, “It’s 9 in the morning, so don’t worry. It’s all good,” which left the anchors in splits. Sabalenka admitted it was her “worst” mistake, while Alcaraz joked, “I didn’t hear anything, so don’t worry about it,” as she couldn’t stop laughing.
On Saturday, playing under the closed roof at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sabalenka, who suffered agonising defeats in the Australian Open and French Open finals, ruthlessly attacked Anisimova’s shaky service game to complete a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) victory and claim her second straight US Open crown. The victory also saw Sabalenka avenge her Wimbledon semifinal loss to the American.
“It’s crazy, all those tough lessons were worth it for this one,” said Sabalenka afterwards. “I’m speechless right now.”
An evening later, Sinner was aiming to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2008 to defend the US Open title, but his efforts were halted by Alcaraz, who avenged the Wimbledon final defeat to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. It was his second Grand Slam title this season, having earlier won the French Open title after beating the Italian in five sets.
Both winners took home $5 million each in cash prizes, a 39 per cent increase from last year and the biggest single payout among the four Grand Slams.
