Sabalenka Reportedly Fined $7,500: Report Cites Racket Smash After Final, Not Semifinal Profanity

A report emerged that Sabalenka was fined $7,500 after losing the US Open final and finishing as runner-up. The reason given is a racket smash after the final; official confirmation and any deduction from prize money are unconfirmed.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Summary in Three Lines

Sabalenka lost the US Open final to Rybakina 4-6, 7-5, 2-6 on September 12 and finished as runner-up.
Tennis Temple reported that a $7,500 fine was imposed for smashing a racket twice after the final.
It has not been confirmed whether there was a sanction for semifinal profanity, whether any disciplinary action is final, or whether the fine was deducted from the $2.8 million runner-up prize money.

"Today, she played better than me." Aryna Sabalenka said this at a press conference after losing the US Open final on September 12 (U.S. local time). She lost to Elena Rybakina 4-6, 7-5, 2-6. Her bid for a third straight title, after 2024 and 2025, also ended there. Two days later, the fine report emerged.

The issue comes down to one point: whether the explanation circulating online, "fined for semifinal profanity," matches the actual report. The reason cited by the outlet that first reported the fine was smashing a racket twice after losing the final. No report citing semifinal profanity as the reason could be found in the materials gathered. For now, there is little basis for tying the two incidents together as a single sanction.

Sabalenka's $7,500 Fine: The Reality Behind the Report of a Racket Smash After the Final

The reported fine is $7,500. The French tennis outlet Tennis Temple reported on September 14 that Sabalenka received a fine of this amount for smashing a racket twice after losing the final. The original text of the tournament's official list of sanctions could not be obtained. No additional reports independently confirming the same claim could be found either. For now, it should be treated as the report of a single outlet.

An in-match warning and a post-match fine should also be treated separately. The US Open's official final report says Sabalenka received a ball abuse warning for hitting a ball up into the air during the match. That was a ruling on court. The Tennis Temple fine report, on the other hand, takes issue with the racket smash after the match ended. Even though both happened on the same day, they are two separate matters with different timing and different conduct.

Sabalenka reached the final on September 10 by beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2. Both the US Open and the WTA reported the result of that match. However, no official announcement or report that a profanity sanction was handed down over that match has been confirmed. It is also still unknown whether any further sanction was imposed or whether the appeal process has concluded.

Date (U.S. local time)	Details	Source
September 10	Semifinal, beat Pegula 7-5 6-2	US Open, WTA
September 12	Final, lost to Rybakina 4-6 7-5 2-6 (ball abuse warning during the match)	US Open, AP
September 12	Press conference: "Today, she played better than me"	US Open
September 14	$7,500 fine reported for racket smash after the final	Tennis Temple (single source)

Sabalenka's $2.8 Million Runner-Up Prize: Fine Deduction Unconfirmed

The runner-up prize money is $2.8 million. This is based on the tournament prize money table compiled by the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), and Newspim converted it to about 3.7 billion won. However, Newspim did not say which exchange rate it applied or as of what date. It is a $2.7 million difference from the $5.5 million winner's prize that Rybakina receives.

The reported $7,500 fine amounts to only about 0.27% of the runner-up prize money (7,500÷2.8 million). It has not been confirmed whether the fine was actually deducted from the prize money. The $2.8 million is the amount before taxes and fines, so the actual amount received is unknown.

Item	Amount (US dollars)	Level of confirmation
Singles winner's prize money	5.5 million	USTA announcement, cross-checked by AP
Singles runner-up prize money	2.8 million	LTA prize money table, cross-checked by Newspim
Racket smash fine (reported)	7,500	Tennis Temple only; official original text not obtained
Total player compensation for the tournament	108 million	USTA announcement, including support beyond prize money

Sabalenka World No. 2, 2,026 Points Behind Rybakina

The result of the final was immediately reflected in the rankings. Matching the EFE report carried by TyC Sports against the official WTA rankings, in the rankings released after the tournament (as of the 2026.09.14 release), Sabalenka has 7,875 points, ranked No. 2. No. 1 is Rybakina with 9,901 points. The gap between the two is 2,026 points. Rybakina became the first Kazakhstani player to reach world No. 1.

Rank	Player	Nationality	Ranking points
1	Elena Rybakina	Kazakhstan	9,901
2	Aryna Sabalenka	Belarus	7,875
3	Jessica Pegula	United States	7,265
4	Coco Gauff	United States	7,244
5	Mirra Andreeva	Russia	5,743

The final was tight to the end. Sabalenka dropped the first set 4-6 and took the second 7-5, but collapsed in the third set 2-6. She is 610 points ahead of No. 3 Pegula (7,265 points). For reference, the WTA player profile still listed Sabalenka as No. 1 at the time of checking.

What has been confirmed so far is the result of the final, the prize money table, the post-tournament rankings, and the $7,500 fine reported by one outlet. The original text of the tournament's official list of sanctions that would confirm the fine had not been confirmed as of 9 a.m. on September 15 (Korean time).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much is Sabalenka's fine, and is it confirmed?

Tennis Temple reported on September 14 that a $7,500 fine was imposed for smashing a racket twice after losing the final. The original text of the tournament's official list of sanctions and additional reports from other outlets could not be obtained, so whether it is confirmed remains unverified.

Q. How much is Sabalenka's runner-up prize money?

The 2026 US Open singles runner-up prize money is $2.8 million, which Newspim converted to about 3.7 billion won. It is the amount before taxes and fines, so the amount actually received has not been confirmed.

Q. Where is Sabalenka ranked after the US Open?

In the rankings released on September 14, 2026, she is No. 2 with 7,875 points. No. 1 is Rybakina with 9,901 points, and No. 3 is Pegula with 7,265 points.

Related Official Sites

US Open official website — tournament results and original official reports
WTA official women's singles rankings — latest world rankings and points
WTA official Sabalenka profile — career and season records

Lead image · Archive photo · Not an on-site photo of the match in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Ocoudis), CC0