Aryna Sabalenka's birthday blunder

May 5 was Aryna Sabalenka's 26th birthday. The last time we saw Sabalenka on the court, a day earlier, she looked very frustrated about her loss in the Mutua Madrid Open finals to Iga Swiatek. While Swiatek dropped to the clay in jubilation after match point, television cameras did not show fans Sabalenka slamming her racquet near her chair.

Sabalenka's aggression was understandable given the high level she played in the final. It was unfortunate that one of them had to lose the match. Swiatek alluded to the fact that their level of play should attract fans to women's tennis, and she credited Sabalenka for making her a better player.

Fans who saw Sabalenka's emotional outburst may have been concerned that her loss would overshadow her birthday celebration. Thankfully, that was not the case.

Aryna Sabalenka's birthday blunder

The Aryna Sabalenka we know and love took to social media to show us her birthday dessert which she was planning to enjoy at the nice restaurant she appeared to be in... until something happened that was so unexpected and hilarious that it made fans and Sabalenka double over in laughter.

Sabalenka started the year by defending her Australian Open title. Highly publicized personal issues have plagued her and her best friend Paula Badosa affectionately known on the WTA Tour as "Sabadosa". (On Sabalenka's birthday, Badosa announced that her high-profile relationship with Stefanos Tsitsipas had ended.) Sabalenka's level of play in Madrid puts her in a great position to win her first-ever French Open so she needs to stay positive and prepared.

The ultimate irony will be if Swiatek and Sabalenka meet in the Roland Garros and Sabalenka prevails. It would be truly a tables-turned event since Sabalenka has owned Madrid (with two titles) and Swiatek has owned Roland Garros (with three titles) since the beginning of their exciting, competitive, and thrilling rivalry.

In the meantime, we hope Sabalenka had a great 26th birthday, enjoyed her second piece of birthday dessert, and has a strong 2024 with plenty of match wins and even more laughs with Badosa and others. Sabalenka is a joy on and off the court, and the WTA Tour is fortunate to have her zany personality and powerful tennis game in its top ranked players.

Read more on Lob and Smash