Aryna Sabalenka apologizes for on-court outburst after WTA Finals loss to Elina Svitolina
Aryna Sabalenka apologized on Saturday for an on-court outburst during her three-set loss to Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on Friday, November 13, 2026. Video circulating on social media appeared to show Sabalenka swearing during the match.
Sabalenka lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 and declined to speak with media after the contest. On Instagram she wrote: “My comment was not directed at Elina. I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment,” and added, "That said, I should have handled my frustration differently and I apologize to anyone I offended. Elina played a great match, and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
When asked about Sabalenka’s online post, Svitolina said: “There's many flags and many Ukrainian supporters are here and of course they want me to win in this particular match. I have seen the glimpse of it because obviously it's in the social media, but yeah, I just hope the matches between us are respected. Sometimes in some matches there are not great comments towards me in regards of the war. It is like this in the social media sometimes that things are turned around a little bit,” she said. Svitolina and others from her country have refused to shake hands with players from Russia and Belarus since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in line with policy set by the Ukrainian Tennis Federation.
Mirra Andreeva reached the other side of the final, making her debut at the season-ending event while Svitolina reached the title match for the third time after a seven-year gap. The 19-year-old was the first teenager since 2004 to contest the WTA Finals championship match after she beat American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-4 in Saturday’s semifinal.
Andreeva’s season highlights noted in the event coverage include winning her first Grand Slam title at the French Open and rising to No. 2 in the world. She has yet to drop a set at the $10 million, season-ending tournament, winning 48 games and losing 18 across four matches — the fewest games lost en route to the final since the round-robin format began in 2003 — and said: “Super happy with how I have playing here so far. Of course, the job is not done yet.” Andreeva improved to 4-5 against Top 10 players this year, including wins over No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 6 Svitolina and No. 5 Pegula, and she defeated Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 in round-robin play earlier in the week.
Svitolina, a 32-year-old Ukrainian, defeated Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-1 in a 65-minute semifinal. Noskova finished that match with 27 unforced errors and 11 double faults; she said: “It was one of those where you feel like you don’t really belong on court, or you feel like you can’t do anything, nothing really works. Unlucky that it was in this competition at such a round, but it happens.” Svitolina is the oldest player to reach the Finals title match since 37-year-old Venus Williams in 2017, and she last made the Finals in 2018 and 2019, winning once and losing once. “It’s incredible to think it’s been that many years and so many things happen in my life after the pregnancy, injuries and surgery,” said Svitolina, who became a mother four years ago. “I always wanted to be back in top 10 and play great game, and here I am. Very proud of the effort.”
Pegula’s semifinal against Andreeva saw her break to go 3-1 in the second set before dropping five of the final six games, ending her fifth consecutive Finals appearance after losing the 2023 final and being a losing semifinalist last year. Pegula was caught on a hot mic during a practice session referring to the teenager as a “diva” who “needs to be humbled.” “The storyline writes itself,” Pegula said before the match. “I guess we had to play each other.” Pegula said she later apologized to Andreeva and added: “I think we’ve all seen that Mirra has a pretty good sense of humor with everything. She said she embraces it, so it was kind of funny. I was like maybe I need a little bit more of that in myself on the court. We’re all good.” Pegula had a career-high 16 aces in her final round-robin match but had none in the semifinal and committed 31 unforced errors; Andreeva finished with six double faults, hit 58% of her first serves and converted four of nine break points. Pegula also commented on Andreeva’s game: “I think she’s just very smart. Sees the court very well, moves well, anticipates well. She has a sneaky good serve. I think that’s something that’s a little underrated in her game.” Andreeva ensured she’ll clinch a career-high ranking with the win, keeping Pegula from doing so; she said: “It’s not far from being No. 3 in the world, so I don’t know if a lot changes with how I feel inside, but yeah, of course it’s a nice milestone.”
Svitolina is set to play Mirra Andreeva in Sunday’s final of the $10 million event.