World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka lost her cool during a tense Italian Open quarter-final match against China’s Qinwen Zheng, screaming “shut the f*** up” at a fan who offered unsolicited advice from the stands.
The incident occurred early in the second set after Sabalenka dropped the first set 6-4 and was broken in the opening game of the second. With tensions already high, a fan yelled, “Come on, Aryna, play tennis!”—prompting the Belarusian star to respond with the expletive outburst.
Zheng briefly paused her serve amid the commotion, and Sabalenka received a formal code violation warning from the umpire.
Despite trying to regroup, Sabalenka couldn’t recover, eventually falling 6-4, 6-3 to Zheng, who remains undefeated in sets throughout the tournament. The 22-year-old will face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals. Gauff advanced after a dominant win over Mirra Andreeva and a convincing performance against Emma Raducanu.
Sabalenka had reached the final of her last four tournaments, including a victory over Gauff in Madrid, but appeared fatigued in Rome. With the French Open starting May 25, she will now have time to rest and regroup.
Elsewhere, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini will meet Peyton Stearns in the other semi-final.
