Aryna Sabalenka commenced her grass court season at the 2025 Berlin Tennis Open. She is the top seed and began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. In her opening match, she faced qualifier Rebeka Masarova and secured the first set 6-2.
As the match progressed, the courts became damp, and the skies became cloudy. Masarova requested a suspension of play due to slippery conditions, which the supervisor granted. It is scheduled to resume on Thursday, June 19, 2025.
However, this decision did not sit well with the World No. 1, who was eager to maintain her winning momentum and finish the match. Now, former World No. 9 CoCo Vandeweghe expressed her frustration with the match supervisor for abruptly halting play.
CoCo Vandeweghe Thinks Aryna Sabalenka’s Wish Should Have Prevailed
Reflecting on this incident, while speaking on Tennis Channel, Vandeweghe criticized the supervisor’s decision to uphold Masarova’s request, calling it a “joke call.” She argued that the supervisor should have prioritized the wishes of Sabalenka, as the higher-ranked and seeded player, rather than acquiescing to the request of a lower-ranked opponent.
“Masarova wanted to call the match for wetness, but Sabalenka didn’t. She’s like, ‘No, I just played two games on that side and it’s not slippery at all.’ Usually, you go with the World No. 1 player and the seeded player, not the lower-ranked player. But Masarova got her way on that one. I thought it was a joke call,” Vandeweghe said.
Vandeweghe stated that there is a need for a “strong supervisor” in matches, one who can facilitate an agreement between players. “First and foremost, you gotta have both players in agreement. Once there are two different opinions, then that’s when you gotta be a strong supervisor. That, to me, was a weak supervisor that was just going for a call that was what he needed,” she added.
Aryna Sabalenka’s opening match in Berlin was suspended after her opponent Rebeka Masarova complained of wet grass.
Was this the right call? 🤔#TCLive pic.twitter.com/A8xUhNSiXG
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 18, 2025
The former World No. 9 expressed the importance of consistency in decision-making across all levels of tennis.
“I think there are so many times you see it a lot more on the WTA Tour where these supervisors just don’t stand up, ‘Hey we are stopping at 9 o’clock. We don’t care if it’s a minute past or a minute earlier. That’s our stop time no matter what, and it’s gotta stay the same.’
“So much about tennis, the variables out there, it’s like come on guys we just need conformity across the board. How hard is it in tennis to get conformity? Apparently, it’s really hard,” Vandeweghe added.
Before beginning her grass court season, Sabalenka competed on the clay court swing. She clinched the title at the Madrid Open, triumphing over Coco Gauff in the final.
The World No. 1 finished as the runner-up at both the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart and the French Open, where she lost to Jeļena Ostapenko and Gauff in the finals, respectively. She also reached the quarterfinals at the Italian Open before being edged out by Zheng Qinwen.
