Aryna Sabalenka cracked a joke and may have even thrown a little shade at men’s tennis when asked about the roof being open for her match against Iva Jovic.
In the opening match of Tuesday’s Rod Laver Arena schedule, the top-seeded Belarusian took on and beat rising American star Iva Jovic 6-0 6-3 in an hour and 29 minutes of play.
As was the case for the past couple of days, it was once again very hot and humid. While the organizers decided to have the roof open for the start of the Sabalenka and Jovic match, they made the decision to close the roof as the match was ongoing. However, since the two-time Australian Open champion was quick, she didn’t get to see the roof being closed.
Sabalenka: As women we are stronger than the guys, so they closed the roof so they don’t suffer
“Aryna, you are probably going to be the only singles match to be played in an open stadium today. Just wondered how the conditions were and were you aware that you were 15 minutes away from closing the roof,” a reporter asked Sabalenka in her post-match press conference.
The top-ranked WTA player responded: “It was hot out there. I guess yeah, as women we are stronger than the guys, so they had to close the roof so they don’t suffer you know?”