Sabalenka used a bikini to respond to criticism

After winning the US Open and then stopping in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open, Sabalenka went to Dubai to relax with her close friend and colleague Paula Badosa. She rested before entering the season-ending WTA Finals tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia starting November 1.

During the trip, Sabalenka posted a series of sexy photos in a swimsuit, at the 5-star Atlantis The Royal resort. The Sun believes that this is a move to respond to Kostyuk's comments about her "masculinity ".

Kostyuk, currently ranked 27th in the world, believes that having to face Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek is unfair. The 23-year-old has lost all seven meetings with them, including four against Sabalenka. Kostyuk believes that the reason for the failure lies in the superior physique of the above duo.

"We all have our own biological structure ", Kostyuk told Tennis365 when attending the Wuhan Open earlier this month. "Some people have higher testosterone levels. It's natural, and obviously that gives an advantage. I feel smaller than them. I try to find ways to beat them with the tennis skills I have, but I have to work harder and move more than them to win each point ".

In fact, Kostyuk is one year younger than Swiatek but has the same height of 1.75 m, while 27-year-old Sabalenka is 1.8 m tall. Kostyuk weighs only 60 kg, 10 kg less than Swiatek and 20 kg less than Sabalenka, but his movements are not superior to the two top 2 opponents in the world. In the top 6 WTA scoreboard, Jessica Pegula is only 1.7 m tall and Jasmine Paolini is 1.63 m tall, still competing fairly with Sabalenka and Swiatek.

"I have my own skills, but in the end they are all bigger than me, taller than me, stronger than me ", Kostyuk added. "I can't make myself 10 kg heavier or 5 cm taller, so I have to use everything I have. When I look back at pictures of myself shaking hands at the net, I look a lot smaller than them. There are a lot of things I can do to become better, but they still have an advantage over me ".

Contrary to her strength on the field, through a series of recently posted photos taken in Dubai, Sabalenka appears seductive in bikinis. She gradually changed her image after the incident in 2024, when her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov died at the age of 42 in a case determined to be suicide. After that, she dated GeorgiosFrangulis, a Greek-Brazilian businessman.

In 2025, Sabalenka's career also improved strongly with four titles, including the US Open championship. The world number one tennis player also reached the final of another Grand Slam, Roland Garros. During her career, Sabalenka won 21 championships, earning more than 42 million USD in prize money.