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Aryna Sabalenka, the No 1 tennis player in the world, and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy have finally met in person after exchanging messages on social media.
Last month, Sabalenka invited Portnoy to take in the US Open women’s singles final between her and Coco Gauff from her player’s box.
Portnoy, however, had other obligations and couldn’t attend the championship match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Now it seems the meeting has finally taken place. Portnoy became a vocal backer of the Australian Open champion during her run in New York and she was keen to acknowledge the support.
The meeting took place on a night out for both Portnoy and Sabalenka in Miami over the weekend.
Portnoy’s platform Barstool Sports is known for its offbeat tone and primarily focuses on gambling content.
He revealed a number of big bets that he had placed on Sabalenka throughout the tournament and his interactions with the top player won him her favour it seems.
The Queen of Tennis @SabalenkaA pic.twitter.com/I6ctfJWCLg
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) October 21, 2023
Portnoy caused controversy with his vocal support of Sabalenka when she was facing American opponents.
He said that he would have liked to have attended the final to cheer for Sabalenka and upset more people.
He suggested that some might consider him racist for his cheering against an African-American player in Coco Guaff in the final.
“That’s my girl,’ Portnoy said during a live stream.
“I love her. I’m Sabalenka for life.”
After his encouraging messages and support, Sabalenka reached out to Portnoy to offer him an invitation to the big match.
However he was committed to be in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a live college football show on the Saturday as the University of Alabama’s college football team played host to Texas A&M.
In a blog post seemingly engineered to wind people up Portnoy lamented not being able to attend the match in the end.
“Imagine that? Me constantly on National TV rooting against Coco Gauff in the U.S. Open Finals? Me against the entire stadium and country? Me rooting for a Belarus tennis player vs. an American?
“The internet would have exploded. ‘There goes racist Dave again! Of course, he’d root against a Black woman in the finals!’ Wallo and Gillie [hosts of Barstool’s ‘Million Dollaz Worth of Game’ podcast] would have had to do a redemption tour across the country apologizing for being my friend.
“The hit pieces would have been through the roof.
“It would have been chaos and I would have lived for every second of it.”
READ MORE: Ben Shelton labels Tokyo comeback to reach maiden final ‘one of the toughest matches in my life’
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