Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one tennis player from Belarus, is facing criticism from fans after promoting a tequila brand just days before the start of the US Open.
Sabalenka posted on Instagram that she was heading back to New York with Dobel Tequila, the official tequila of the US Open, and invited followers to try her signature cocktail, the "Sabalenka Smash Margarita," at the Dobel Tequila Club. The post showed her posing with a bottle of the alcohol in front of a New York taxi.
According to the producer's website, the cocktail includes Dobel tequila, blanco agave and lime juice. Among male players, American Taylor Fritz also advertises the same brand.
A less dominant season
Sabalenka has not been as dominant on the WTA tour this year as she was in 2025. Last season she reached ten WTA tournament finals, including the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, and won four of them.
This year she has won the WTA 500 event in Brisbane and the WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. She also reached the Australian Open final but lost there 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 to Elena Rybakina.
There is now a real possibility that Sabalenka could lose her position atop the WTA rankings if she fails to defend her US Open title. The tournament, one of tennis's four Grand Slam events, runs from August 30 to September 13.
Fans push back
In an interview with Variety last year, Sabalenka said she remembered trying Dobel one day and not feeling the next morning as though she had been drinking the night before. She said she loved tequila and considered Dobel genuinely smooth, adding that she felt great the following day, whereas she used to wake up with a hangover after going out for drinks. She said players did not have much time to simply go out and enjoy themselves, but that during a week off after Wimbledon she allowed herself a few small drinks.
Reaction to the sponsored post was largely negative. Commenters told Sabalenka it was time to focus on her game because her head seemed to be elsewhere, urged her to concentrate on tennis rather than alcohol and fashion, and said it seemed odd for an athlete who trains hard and has achieved so much success to be advertising alcohol. Others wrote that there was too much marketing and not enough tennis, while some simply asked her to have mercy and focus on the sport.
