Aryna Sabalenka gets clear verdict after fury at Wimbledon opponent breaking unwritten rule

Aryna Sabalenka has sparked an age-old debate in tennis with her fury at Amanda Anisimova during their Wimbledon semi-final. Anisimova stunned the No.1 seed 6-4 4-6 6-4 on Thursday to book her place in the final, but the match had a bitter edge to it.

Sabalenka was unhappy with Anisimova for failing to apologise after benefiting from a fortuitous net cord at a crucial stage in the match. In fact, the American No.13 seed pumped her fist in reaction, rather than holding up her hand in apology, which is an unwritten rule of tennis.

The Belarusian appeared to mouth ‘you are supposed to say sorry’ to her opponent and was still ticking in her post-match press conference. “I just looked at her and, I mean, for sure she didn't hear me. I was like, 'you don't want to say sorry?' She just wanted, I guess, badly to win this match,” Sabalenka said.

“It's on her. If she doesn't feel like saying sorry, like she barely got that point and she didn't feel like saying sorry for that tricky situation, that's on her."

READ MORE: Aryna Sabalenka refuses to repeat 'completely unprofessional' moment after Wimbledon loss

READ MORE: Wimbledon No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka crashes out after fury at opponent over unwritten rule

Anisimova had nothing but compliments for her opponent and brushed over the controversy when she spoke afterwards. And she has received the backing of legendary player Martina Navratilova too.

“Most of the time, you’re not even looking at your opponent when you lose the point,” the 18-time Grand Slam champion said on the BBC. “I don’t think Amanda was doing anything on purpose. I think she was just so concentrated on being on her side of the court and being right there to not get distracted or anything like that.

"Even when any other distractions were happening, she was right there. You could see she was really trying hard to concentrate and really didn’t want to break it. I think it was more that than anything else.”

Anisimova’s situation was similar to that of Robin Soderling, who celebrated a net cord in a match against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2007. When questioned on his behaviour he responded: “Why should I say I’m sorry when it’s the happiest moment of my life?”

While it is undoubtedly expected in tennis – from the professional level right down to the local park – many players feel it is unnecessary.

“I was taught as a kid that you have to say sorry,” 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep once said. “I’ve thought about this, and I don’t really think it’s fair you have to say sorry; you’re happy you won the point. But I think it’s automatic now.”

Top coach Wim Fissette summed it up nicely in an interview with AP: “I don’t think it’s necessary. But is it necessary to say ‘Bless you’ if someone sneezes? It’s more or less the same. If you sneeze, and the person next to you doesn’t say, ‘Bless you,’ it’s kind of weird, right?”

Ultimately, it is one of those things that the vast majority of players would do 99 times out of 100. But, in the heat of the moment, in the biggest match of her life, Anisimova reacted instinctively. Having now cooled off, Sabalenka is unlikely to hold a grudge over it.