Tennis superstar Aryna Sabalenka isn’t just firing back with bikini snaps.
During an appearance Tuesday on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” the world No. 1 was asked about controversial comments attributed to fellow tennis player Marta Kostyuk, whose October interview with Tennis365 caused a stir when the publication “inserted a comment asking if Kostyuk was ‘intimidated’ by” Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek and a response of “different biological structures” spread like wildfire.
“That’s so funny that we even talk about someone like Marta Kostyuk’s comments, but all I hear here is just excuses,” Sabalenka said. “And it’s actually quite funny because she’s a strong girl. She probably has more muscles than I do, and she looks fit and strong, and I think that’s not the case in all of the matches she lost against top players.”
Kostyuk, currently ranked No. 26 in the world, spoke with Tennis365 at the Wuhan Open about battling the sport’s premier players, such as Sabelnka, 27, and Swiatek, 24, and the challenge that presents.
“With Iga, when I have played her, I wasn’t ready to play her at all,” the 23-year-old Kostyuk began. “I played her over a year ago. With Aryna, I don’t know, to be honest. When I look at these players, I have my own skills, but at the end of the day, they are all much bigger than me, much taller than me, much stronger than me. We all have different biological structure. Some have a higher level of testosterone, some have lower. I know players who are good players who have higher levels of it. It’s just natural, they don’t take anything. I’m sure of that. It’s just the biology of their body. Obviously, that definitely helps.
“I’m trying to see how I can beat these players with the tennis skills I have, but I have to work more than they have to win the points. I need to run a lot more. I am much more of, like, an athletic player. I cannot just hit the ball hard, sweeping players out of the court with my power. I cannot make myself suddenly 10kgs bigger or five centimeters taller, so I have to find ways to use everything I have at 100 percent. For other players, they have more of an advantage in other things. This is just the way I am. My body, I’m really small. I look at the pictures when we are on the court and I look so much smaller than everyone. I cannot be bigger! It’s just part of the sport. I think it’s a very cool challenge, if I think about it. I really have to sit down and think, okay, what can I do to get make better against these players. I’m sure there are many, many things I can do better.”
Tennis365 published a follow-up post to the original interview and provided the full question Kostyuk was asked: “When you play Sabalenka and Swiatek, how close do you feel you are? What makes them a little better? Their consistency or their mental strength?”
“These comments were an honest reflection of how Marta feels on court, but they have been spun to insinuate Kostyuk was criticising her opponents, which was never her intention,” the outlet stated.
“… Tennis365 is a platform that has always prided itself on promoting the game in a positive light and we hope the clarification in this article will end any debate over comments that have been spun wildly by other areas of the world’s media.”
Around the same time Kostyuk’s comments went viral, Sabalenka — who defeated her twice in 2025 — posted bikini photos with some speculating if it was a clapback.
“Just wanted to make sure that she sees the real picture,” Sabalenka told Piers Morgan on Tuesday.