The tennis world welcomed a new Australian Open champion in the form of Elena Rybakina, and everyone rushed to applaud the Kazakh for her searing victory over Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final. Rybakina’s post-win celebration caught the eye of Serena Williams’s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who weighed in with his thoughts on the same.
The Kazakh remained calm and composed throughout the match, showing no urgency, even when she was down 3-0 in the deciding set. She translated that calm into celebration after the win, as Rybakina didn’t shout, beat her hands in the air, fall to the ground, or get emotional after sealing her second title at a Major Grand Slam.
The tennis world observed Rybakina’s controlled celebration and appreciated it. Naomi Osaka’s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, also noticed the tranquil celebration and shared his thoughts in a post on X, making a comical observation.
Some fans took an unlikely exception to the comment and hit back at Mouratoglou, calling him a misogynist for making it and for not being comfortable with Rybakina’s muted celebration.
“People complaining about Rybakina’s lack of expressive celebration feels low-key misogynistic to me. Why do y’all feel comfortable criticizing a female player for not being emotional enough for you?” a fan commented.
“Who is criticizing?” Mouratoglou replied.
“I thought it was about the tennis. You people are exhausting. Y’all hate Saba for screaming and hate Elena for being reserved. I think y’all just hate women,” another fan commented.
“Nobody hates nobody. Where did you take that from? I never commented on Saba grunting and just noticed how unusual is Elena’s celebration. Why do you see everything as misogynic comments?” Mouratoglou replied.
Elena Rybakina Relishes Getting Back to the Top Table After Australian Open Win
After her resounding title triumph in Melbourne, Rybakina addressed the media and reflected on her win over Sabalenka. There was a point in the match when the Kazakh looked done and dusted as the Belarusian had raced to a 3-0 lead in the decider. However, Rybakina never lost hope and won five games on the trot to seal a monumental victory.
“I always believed that I could come back to the level I was. We all have ups and downs. Like everyone, I thought maybe I will never be again in the final or even get a trophy, but it’s all about the work. We’ve been putting a lot of work in with the team and they were also very supportive,” Rybakina said.
“In the moments when I was maybe not that positive, they would be helping out on the side. When you getting after some wins, big wins against top players, then you start to believe more, you get more confident,” she added.
The Kazakh is expected to be in action next in one of the WTA events in February, as two of them are set to commence on February 1.
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