From Chris Evert’s commentary to Anna Kalinskaya’s double bounce fiasco: 5 biggest controversies that came out of US Open 2024
The Grand Slam season in 2024 came to an end with the conclusion of US Open 2024. The tournament saw two new singles champions at Flushing Meadows in Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, who beat local players Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula in the respective finals.
Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson were the men’s doubles champions while Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok won the women’s doubles tournaments. The Italian pair of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori triumphed in the mixed doubles event by beating Taylor Townsend and Donald Young. This was the first mixed doubles title for Errani, who has already won the women’s doubles titles at all four Grand Slams.
US Open 2024 had some enthralling matches throughout the tournament but it also had its fair share of controversies. One such incident was all the gossip around Elena Rybakina splitting up with coach Stefano Vukov before the tournament.
On that note, let’s have a look at five of the biggest controversies from US Open 2024.
#5. Aryna Sabalenka’s fitness coach Jason Stacy donning hat from pro-women brand
Women’s singles champion Aryna Sabalenka’s fitness coach Jason Stacy donned a hat of the pro-women brand “XX-XY Athletic” during the Belarusian’s quarterfinal win over seventh seed Zheng Qinwen.
“XX-XY Athletic” is banned on numerous social media platforms, most recently on TikTok in July for promoting “political speech” and “hate” around transgender issues.
Martina Navratilova, however, praised Stacy for donning the hat, stating that he supported women’s sports by doing so.
“New controversy at US Open as Aryna Sabalenka’s fitness coach Jason Stacy comes under fire for donning hat from pro-women brand “XX-XY Athletics”- thank you Jason for supporting women’s sports- being pro women is not hate, it’s actually progressive,” the former World No. 1 wrote on X.
Stacy wore a t-shirt that read “Everyone watches women’s sports” during Sabalenka’s US Open semifinal against Emma Navarro.
#4. Emma Navarro’s comments on Zheng Qinwen
Emma Navarro and Zheng Qinwen locked horns in the third round of the Paris Olympics, with the latter winning 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1. The American said that she told the Chinese she did not respect her as a competitor.
Following her quarterfinal win at the US Open, Navarro said that Zheng did not treat her with respect.
“Yeah. I don’t want to go super into the weeds with it, but I think during that match and, you know, on the practice court and the last few times l’ve played her, because we have been playing each other since we were juniors, I felt just a little bit disrespected by her. You know, I don’t want to, like I said, go too into detail with it,” Navarro said.
At the time, Zheng Qinwen was a potential semifinal opponent of Emma Navarro’s, but the former lost in the quarterfinal to Aryna Sabalenka in what was a rematch of the Australian Open final.
#3. Nick Kyrgios’ comments on Anna Kalinskaya
Nick Kyrgios came under immense criticism from several fans for his seemingly derogatory comment on Anna Kalinskaya. It all started when the Aussie asked fans on X who they thought would win the US Open men’s singles final between Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz.
One fan responded by sharing an image of Kyrgios with Kalinskaya, who was his ex-girlfriend and currently dates Jannik Sinner. The Aussie then seemingly took a dig at the Russian by saying:
“Second serve”
However, he later went on to delete the post.
#2. Chris Evert’s commentary
Chris Evert received a lot of criticism for some of her commentary during the US Open. These included her remarks towards Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff.
Evert spoke on Naomi Osaka’s US Open outfit, saying:
“I like the dress… it suits her, it suits the Japanese culture”
Several fans lashed out at the 18-time Grand Slam champion for her comments on Osaka. Some fans also said that Evert was racist towards Coco Gauff in her commentary during a match.
The former World No. 1 also compared Karolina Muchova’s playing style to that of a male player.
“She plays like a guy. She wants to play like a guy. The guys have bigger serves than the women, they have better volleys for the most part, they move a little bit better,” Evert said.
The American later apologized for her comments when Ons Jabeur addressed them.
“I apologize if I offended you both, certainly not my intention. The power, mobility, and athleticism has improved so much, and many women I interview have men idols who they aspire to play like. Again, maybe my delivery could’ve been better, so sorry,” Evert said.
Another statement from the 69-year-old that saw her face criticism was her stating that the semifinal between Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Navarro was the best women’s match of the US Open.
#1. Anna Kalinskaya’s double-bounce controversy
Anna Kalinskaya was the 15th seed at the US Open, and her tournament came to an end after suffering a 3-6, 1-6 defeat to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the third round. The match had a moment of controversy during the opening set when the Brazilian returned a shot from the Russian after the ball seemingly bounced twice.
Chair umpire Miriam Bley awarded the point to Haddad Maia. Kalinskaya then asked for the VAR technology which showed that the Brazilian had seemingly taken the ball on the double bounce. However, she still awarded the point to the 22nd seed.
Haddad Maia went on to reach the US Open quarterfinals before losing to Karolina Muchova.
