World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s second-round match against Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova at the 2025 Berlin Tennis Open was suspended on Wednesday due to poor light and dew.
Having already secured the first set, Sabalenka strongly criticized the decision and engaged in a heated exchange with the officials. The incident subsequently set off a flurry of posts and debates on social media.
Aryna Sabalenka Voices Frustration Over 2R Match Suspension in Berlin
After a stellar clay-court swing culminating in a runner-up finish at Roland Garros, Sabalenka began her grass-court campaign as the top seed at the WTA 500 event in Berlin. The Belarusian controlled the match from the start, taking the first set 6-2 against Masarova, but will now have to wait until Thursday to secure her spot in the quarterfinals.
The Swiss requested a suspension of play after the first set due to slippery conditions, and her plea was granted, with the match rescheduled for Thursday, June 19.
Considering the momentum was on her side, Sabalenka seemed eager to continue play and voiced her frustration about the suspension in a tense exchange with the supervisor. The World No. 1 was heard saying:
“You’re stopping the match because she said that side is slippery? I just played 2 games on that side.”
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
Aryna Sabalenka’s Berlin Match Suspension Sparks Fan Debate
Several fans reacted to the update with many backing Sabalenka in the aftermath: One wrote:
“no suspension in the world is gonna save masarova from the beating she will be getting tomorrow.”
no suspension in the world is gonna save masarova from the beating she will be getting tomorrow. https://t.co/OrElmFFZoW
— realest.⛹🏽♂️ (@realest7g) June 18, 2025
“It wasn’t slippery….yet. The match was stopped because Masarova was down a set and there was a theoretical chance of it becoming slippery,” another chimed in.
“I mean, Rebeka was losing so.. we all know why she wanted to stop the match,” a fan said.
I mean, Rebeka was losing so.. we all know why she wanted to stop the match.
— sabybabe (@FR_ArynaSaby) June 18, 2025
It’s worth noting that Sabalenka made a similar request during her Madrid Open quarterfinal against Marta Kostyuk last month. As it started drizzling, she asked the chair umpire to halt play. Although the umpire indicated that play could continue due to the light rain, Sabalenka chose to stop the match, leaving Kostyuk visibly displeased.
A group of fans recalled that incident from Madrid to question Sabalenka’s arguments. One said:
“Wasn’t it Saba who recently stopped her match with Kostyuk on her second serve due to rain. It was her decision, she didn’t want to play, Kostyuk did. It follows that she can but no one else can.”
Wasn’t it Saba who recently stopped her match with Kostyuk on her second serve due to rain. It was her decision, she didn’t want to play, Kostyuk did. It follows that she can but no one else can.
— Happy (@anetaSzcze28921) June 18, 2025
“remember when she wanted to stop play because of rain during a tiebreak and her opponent didn’t want to stop but they stopped anyway,” another commented.
“But Aryna has been acting tragically lately… literally the same situation happened recently with kostyuk where sabalenka stopped whenever she wanted and everything was fine 🤡,” one weighed in.
Ale Aryna tragicznie wypada ostatnio… doslownie taka sama sytuacja byla niedawno z kostyuk gdzid sabalenka przerwala sobie kiedy chciala i wszystko bylo cacy🤡 https://t.co/92i0qQ8iDU
— Kamil Milewicz (@MilewiczKamil) June 18, 2025
As the discussion concluded, Sabalenka shook her head while walking back to her bag, then directed a sarcastic thumbs-up toward Masarova.
Aryna Sabalenka Hasn’t Won a Grass Court Title
Sabalenka has enjoyed success on hard courts, with all three of her Grand Slam titles coming on the surface (two at the Australian Open and one at the US Open). In addition, her clay-court game has improved lately. Last year, she reached the finals in Madrid and Rome, and made the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. This year, she was a finalist in Stuttgart and Paris, captured the Madrid title, and reached the quarterfinals in Rome.
Grass, however, remains the surface where Sabalenka has yet to fully deliver on her potential. She has yet to win a title on the surface and has never reached the final at Wimbledon, falling in the semifinals to Karolina Pliskova in 2021 and Ons Jabeur in 2023. Notably, a shoulder injury sustained in Berlin last year forced her to withdraw from the grass-court Major altogether.
Thus, the Belarusian, who has already reached multiple finals this season, will aim to replicate that success in Berlin and at Wimbledon.
