{
  "id": 20157684,
  "title": "Aryna Sabalenka denies claims she directed Russian insult at Ukrainian opponent Elina Svitolina",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/aryna-sabalenka-denies-claims-she-directed-russian-insult-at",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-15T10:25:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/aryna-sabalenka-denies-claims-she-102554154.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Aryna Sabalenka has rejected allegations that she directed an insult at her Ukrainian opponent Elina Svitolina, but expressed regret over her comments following a video showing her using profanity in Russian during her WTA Finals loss. The second-ranked player was captured on camera shouting angrily during her 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 defeat to Svitolina, leading some to believe the Belarusian's words were targeting her opponent or Ukrainians in general. Sabalenka clarified her stance on Instagram, stating that her comment was not aimed at Svitolina, but rather at a group of spectators who were celebrating her mistakes. She acknowledged her poor handling of frustration and apologized to anyone offended. Svitolina, who defeated Sabalenka in Indian Wells, had won seven matches against the 28-year-old at the time. Despite the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian players do not engage in pre-match handshakes or photographs with Russian or Belarusian players. Svitolina responded to Sabalenka's statement by urging respect for their matches, noting that they have played together multiple times and that comments about the war have sometimes been directed at her as well. Svitolina will face Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the final of the WTA Finals after she eliminated Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.",
  "summary": "Sabalenka insisted the comments were directed at a section of the crowd and apologised for the incident",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}