Elena Rybakina made her entry into the French Open in style as she comfortably secured her first-round win over Belgian star Greet Minnen in straight sets with the scoreline 6-2, 6-3. However, soon after securing the win, she had to deal with the posed by multiple reporters. Having played on court Suzanne Legnlen, she was asked how she felt as compared to last year and if any specific conditions on the court affected her gameplan.

Responding to this, Ryabkina suggested that the questions are quite often the same and she had nothing to say. “The questions are quite the same, so I don’t know what to say anymore. Simple questions, simple answers. So, guys, something else?” said Rybakina.

However, Ben Rothenberg, one of the tennis bigwigs also known to have written the book ‘Naomi Osaka: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice’ did not find the answer to be too relevant. He further suggested that it is simply her fundamental ignorance of getting success in the entertainment industry. However, this further landed him in a lot of trouble from the fans. 

“Oleg said it in my last RT, but honestly, for a player to whine about not getting prime court slots and media and then to be aggressively insolent in press when folks are trying to make her interesting…just a fundamental ignorance of how to succeed in the entertainment industry,” said Rothenberg.

Reacting to the statements made by him, one fan suggested that she was not at all in the entertainment industry. “She’s not in the entertainment industry,” said the fan who did not agree with Rothenberg’s statements.

Another fan joined him as he seemed quite dissatisfied by Rothenberg’s remarks as well. While suggesting that she is a tennis player, he added that there’s no need for her to be interesting. “I don’t understand why anyone expects a top athlete to be interesting when interviewed, she has spent all her life playing tennis and is great at it,” said the fan who parted ways with the remarks made by Ben Rothenberg.

While this question did not seem to be too apt for Elena Rybakina, this fan suggested that another question, about her dress on the court was also the worst one to ask. “I think the question about what she is wearing was the worst one. She isn’t a Kardashian. Maybe we just want to hear about the tennis,” said the fan.

Next, joining the crew was this fan who suggested that if ever there’s a situation when there’s the fan vs the media world, he would be on the athlete’s side. “If there’s ever an athlete vs ‘the sports media’ controversy i am invariably 100% on the side of the athlete,” said the fan.

Last, but not least, this fan ended the date by suggesting that she did not sign up for entertaining anyone. “Tbf she didn’t sign up for entertining anybody, many people will come watch her play because she is at the top of the game and don’t care she is not Instagram star later on,” said the fan who suggested that people watch her because she’s a great player and not an entertainer.

Thus, Ben Rothenberg had to go through a lot of backlash from the fans who did not agree with the remarks that he made about Elena Rybakina. While the whole drama was already going on, Tennis Letter, who had originally posted the video on their X (formerly Twitter) account made their feelings clear on the whole drama.

Amidst Elena Rybakina’s post-match drama, major tennis publication offers her support

The Tennis Letter, who had posted the snippet of that part on their Twitter channel came ahead with yet another post in which they offered their two cents on the whole matter. They clearly suggested that there was nothing wrong with her attitude. If she’s not happy, she has the right to express it, which she did. “Elena Rybakina does not need to fake a happy attitude in press in order to be good at her job, which is playing tennis. If Elena Rybakina is bored with answering repetitive questions in press, there’s nothing wrong with her expressing that,” they suggested.

They further ended the whole debate by suggesting that if a female athlete does not want to do that, it is completely fine and there’s nothing wrong in it. “If a female athlete doesn’t want to do that, then that’s perfectly okay,” they concluded.

Thus, the whole drama unfolded after Elena Rybakina chose to be her true self and answer the questions in one of the most heartfelt ways that she wanted. What are your thoughts on the whole scenario? Do let us know in the comments below!