It’s said ‘Never meet your heroes’. While some proudly debunk the negative connotations that come with it, Aryna Sabalenka thought she was one of the lucky ones when she met Serena Williams. In their solitary meeting on the court, Williams defeated Sabalenka in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2021. But two years later, the two were involved in a controversy.

Last October, Sabalenka and Williams, along with Caroline Wozniacki, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, and entrepreneur David Grutman, came together for a restaurant launch in Miami. Sabalenka posted a few pictures of the event to her Instagram, the second of which featured Williams on the left. It’s still on her Instagram feed from Oct 21, 2023.

But reportedly Williams posted the same picture to her account as well, with the Belarusian player quite literally cropped out of the picture. It was just Serena, Wozniacki, and David Grutman. Although the controversy happened last year, a fan dug up the pictures and posted them on X again. The American player seems to have deleted it from her Instagram now.

Other than their solitary Australian Open meeting, Sabalenka and Williams don’t have a deep history. Both have had some commonalities in their gameplay as assessed by fans and pundits alike. But with the sheer power with which both players hit the ball, even Williams knew she was in for a tough battle when she faced Sabalenka.

“It was definitely a lot of power,” said the American at the time. “I think, if anything, it was definitely power, but I’m used to it in practice. I know how to get them. I was okay with it really. If she wants to play power, let’s go.”

Since then, the two have not been spotted together too often except for the 2023 meeting. And to this day it’s unclear what exactly prompted Williams to cut out Sabalenka from the picture that she posted on Instagram. An accidental moment of social media clumsiness when she wanted to zoom in? Some think it was definitely fishy, but who’s to clarify? Nevertheless, their similar styles of on-court play often bring the two names together again.

Sabalenka has now become the second player since Williams to play back-to-back finals of the US Open. The American did it in 2018-19, although she lost both times. Sabalenka lost to Coco Gauff last year and will face another American, Jessica Pegula this year. Even at the Melbourne major in January, Sabalenka was the first after Serena to get to two consecutive finals after the American did it in 2016-17. But as of late, this is not their only strange connection.

Jessica Pegula mistakes ‘Aryna’ (Sabalenka) for ‘Serena’

At the recently concluded Cincinnati Open, Jessica Pegula faced Aryna Sabalenka in the final. There the Belarusian prevailed in a tough match and in a hilarious post-match moment, Pegula sent the Belarusian laughing.