- Portnoy posted tweets supporting Sabalenka in September, leading to the invitation
- But he was scheduled to visit Alabama for a college football game and declined
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and world No. 2 tennis player Aryna Sabalenka finally met after their back-and-forth on social media.
Sabalenka had sent Portnoy an invitation last month to watch the US Open women’s singles final against Coco Gauff from her coach’s box. Portnoy, however, had other commitments.
But the two eventually met at an undisclosed location in Miami on Friday night, with Portnoy tweeting a photo with the caption: “The Queen of Tennis @SabalenkaA.”
Portnoy has made a number of bets on the Grand Slam this year, including some on Sabalenka.
He placed a significant bet on the Belarusian in her semi-final against Madison Keys.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was finally able to meet tennis star Aryna Sabalenka
After Portnoy live-tweeted Sabalenka’s semifinal at the US Open, she invited him to the final
Portnoy was glued to his phone during that match, furiously live-tweeting during the match as Keys gave up a 6-0 win in the first set to lose the match on tiebreaks in sets two and three.
After the end of the match, Portnoy tweeted a video of himself seemingly out of breath just from watching the event.
“That’s my girl,” Portnoy said, saying that watching the match knowing money was on the line was “the biggest war I’ve ever been in” – adding, “I love her. I am Sabalenka for life.’
The next morning, Portnoy discovered that Sabalenka had sent him a DM with an invitation to attend the final with a seat in her coach’s box.
But Portnoy was supposed to be in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a live college football show as the University of Alabama college football team faced Texas.
Portnoy declined due to scheduling conflicts, but declared himself “Sabalenka for life.”
Portnoy wrote in a blog: ‘Imagine that? Me constantly on national television fighting Coco Gauff in the US Open Final? Me against the entire stadium and the entire country? I argue for a Belarusian tennis player versus an American?
‘The internet would have exploded. “There’s racist Dave again! Of course he would compete against a black woman in the final!” Wallo and Gillie (hosts of Barstool’s “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast) should do a redemption tour across the country to apologize for being my friend.
‘The affected pieces would have gone through the roof. It would have been chaos and I would have lived every second of it.”
Gauff eventually defeated Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win her first Grand Slam singles title.