The Berlin Open is buzzing with excitement, and Aryna Sabalenka is eager to bounce back after a tough French Open final loss just two weeks ago. The world No. 1, who broke down in tears and sparked controversy with her remarks about Coco Gauff, has since cleared the air, calling her words “completely unprofessional” and winning fans with her honesty. But despite her fresh start, Sabalenka’s run in Berlin is proving far from easy! There’s still plenty of drama ahead.
On Wednesday, the top seed kicked off her Berlin campaign against Rebeka Masarova at the Steffi Graf Stadion. The Belarusian gave it her best shot, even taking the first set. But the timing of the match couldn’t have been worse. As tennis journalist Jose Morgado on X reported, “Play suspended due to darkness in Berlin. Sabalenka was 6-2 up on Masarova.” Yikes!
There’s another reason behind the abrupt halt. During the second set, the umpire had to make a quick decision after hearing Rebeka’s plea to stop because the court was “slippery.” Aryna was determined to continue and argued with the umpire, saying, “You’re stopping the match because she said that side is slippery? I just played 2 games on that side.” She looked upset but held a smile in disbelief. The umpire could even be heard saying, “You know we’re not going to finish, what’s the point?”
Sabalenka and Masarova’s match in Berlin is stopped due to the court getting slippery.
Rebeka wanted to stop play.
Aryna wanted to continue:
“You’re stopping the match because she said that side is slippery? I just played 2 games on that side”
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 18, 2025
Could this have anything to do with the competitors before them? Perhaps. Before Sabalenka took the court, defending champion Jessica Pegula had already exited in a thrilling upset. Pegula, who stunned everyone last year by winning as the fourth seed, fell in a marathon round of 16 match to 2021 champ Liudmila Samsonova, 6-7(8), 7-5, 7-6(5). The match lasted three hours and 21 minutes, showing Pegula’s grit but ending her run.
As of now, there’s no official report on when the match will resume. It seems Aryna Sabalenka will have to wait another day before moving on to the next round.
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