© Getty Images Sport – Darrian Traynor
Aryna Sabalenka seemingly threw shade at a WTA colleague or a couple of them while openly admitting that she was just “faking” that she was not too disappointed over a shock Dubai exit.
Three weeks after defending her Australian Open title, Sabalenka returned to action at this week’s WTA 1000 event in Dubai. On Tuesday, Sabalenka went up by a set and a break against Donna Vekic – the Belarusian wasn’t really dominating the Croatian but it seemed like the Belarusian would manage to close out the match in two sets. But then, Vekic came back from a set down to upset the second-seeded Belarusian 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-0.
Not only that Sabalenka losing to world No. 31 Vekic was an unexpected result in her Dubai opener, the fact that the world No. 2 lost 12 of the last 13 games made her loss even more baffling. But after the match, Sabalenka was smiling and appeared to be in good spirits while answering the questions. Then, a reporter told Sabalenka about how well she appeared to be taking what happened on the court – which prompted a funny but also interesting response from the 25-year-old.
“I’m faking it. I’ve been on tour for a while. Acting like some of the players – if you…
