The reason Aryna Sabalenka was 'practically kicked out' of Arthur Ashe Stadium straight after her US Open win

After several tough losses in 2025, Aryna Sabalenka finally added to her Grand Slam tally at Flushing Meadows.

Losing in the finals of the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and the semifinals of Wimbledon, Sabalenka travelled to New York with a point to prove.

Determined not to finish the season without a major, Sabalenka defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6, to defend her US Open title.

Celebrating with her team, Sabalenka was enjoying herself before being quickly ushered out of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Former German star Andrea Petkovic has now revealed why everyone, including Sabalenka and her team, was told to leave the premises.

Aryna Sabalenka was ‘practically kicked out’ by the Secret Service ahead of Donald Trump’s visit

During the latest episode of ‘Becker Petkovic’, the 38-year-old commented on the security measures implemented at the 2025 US Open ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit for the men’s final.

“Everyone was completely checked. We were only allowed to come to the facility with a mobile phone and had to be there at nine o’clock in the morning,” she said.

“These were the safety precautions. Also, the day before, at ten o’clock, Saturday, so before the men’s final, everyone had to leave the facility because the Secret Service went through to check everything.

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“Aryna Sabalenka was still in the locker room celebrating with her team, and she was then practically kicked out to continue celebrating elsewhere.”

Trump’s decision to return to the US Open after a ten-year absence caused difficulties, as some fans missed large portions of the final while passing through the heightened security checks.

Petkovic was left frustrated by this, suggesting the atmosphere wasn’t quite as electric as she had hoped.

“I’m really not a political person, I have to be honest. What bothered me about the whole thing was that I was completely distracted from the tennis,” she said.

“The stadium was half empty for the first set, and the mood, I don’t know if it was broadcast on television, but I was in the stadium, the mood was completely dead.

“And it had nothing to do with Carlos [Alcaraz] and nothing with Jannik [Sinner], but everyone was busy with other things. Everyone was looking at their phones, refreshing the news all the time to see why the stadium was empty.

“That bothered me so much that I realised that the atmosphere in the stadium was destroyed, especially at the beginning, that the stadium was half empty until the middle of the second set, and then also in the third, it still wasn’t filled.

“People who had spent a lot of money on tickets probably missed half of the match.”

Petkovic did, however, understand that the situation was largely unavoidable.

“On the other hand, I have to say, it’s incredibly difficult,” she said.

“I don’t know how they could have done it any differently. You couldn’t have said, Don’t come at all.”

Petkovic’s co-host, Boris Becker, agreed, as he gave his verdict on Trump’s attendance.

Boris Becker says Donald Trump’s attendance was ‘fundamentally good’ for tennis

The former world number one was happy to see the serving president travel to New York for the men’s singles final.

“First of all, I think it is fundamentally important and good that the president of the respective country where a Grand Slam takes place wants to come to the final,” said Becker.

“This emphasises the importance of tennis.”

However, like Petkovic, Becker wasn’t too impressed with the impact his visit had on the atmosphere.

“But it must be possible to take the safety precautions in such a way that the players do not have to start in front of a half-empty stadium,” he said.

“We are talking about Alcaraz-Sinner.”

Watching Sinner and Alcaraz play the third match of their Grand Slam final trilogy in front of a half-empty stadium felt wrong, and you couldn’t help but think the situation was avoidable.

Simply starting the match later, or advising Trump to arrive earlier, might have prevented the issue, although we will likely never know what conversations went on behind the scenes.

Only time will tell if we will see Trump return to Arthur Ashe in 2026, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on.

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