Only in New York

On Monday night, a fan had an unforgettable moment at the Garden Cup in Madison Square Garden. After Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s top-ranked female tennis player, participated in the event, she invited someone from the crowd to replace Naomi Osaka for an exhibition match.

Fans were initially supportive, but after a shaky performance, their cheers quickly turned into boos—just a few minutes into the match.

“It’s pressure,” said the fan, Hwang, in a post-match interview. “I don’t know what happened. I lost her match. Sorry, Alina, I still love you. You’re still my queen!”

Sabalenka playfully waited until she held a 40-0 lead before letting a spectator step in at this friendly event. Meanwhile, Osaka seemed taken aback as spectators lined up on the other side of the court, especially when she sent a 165 mph serve spinning down the right side.

As the match unfolded, Osaka deftly returned the fan’s shots but eventually lost a point, hitting the ball into the net. Sabalenka raised her hands in feigned exasperation.

The fan, prepping for an interview, found it difficult to keep up and soon faltered, drawing jeers from the MSG crowd—almost as if they’d witnessed a missed game-winning shot by the Knicks.

After the fan jokingly claimed to be a Wilson user and blamed Osaka’s racket for an unsuccessful return, Sabalenka handed over one of her rackets. Yet, once again, the fan couldn’t handle the serve and lost on match point.

In a light-hearted moment, Osaka told the fan to do push-ups as a playful “punishment,” prompting laughter from the audience and her opponents.

After a messy scene, fans took their rackets home, and Osaka went back to replay the match, but the outcome turned out to be the same: another loss.

The Garden Cup is an annual exhibition event that also showcased a notable singles match between Olympic gold medalist Tommy Paul and former Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios. The event wrapped up with a mixed doubles match, where Osaka and Kyrgios triumphed over Sabalenka and Paul.