‘Don’t want to do this anymore’: Daria Saville’s $147k ‘truth’ in US meltdown

Australia’s highest ranked woman has destroyed a racquet after losing her first round US Open match, before dropping a shock reveal.

Australia’s highest ranked women’s player Daria Saville has exploded after losing her first round match at the US Open in gut-wrenching circumstances.

The world No. 95 Saville took Japan’s world No. 39 Ena Shibahara all the way in a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-6) loss.

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According to the WTA live rankings, Saville will drop to at least No. 98 in the world and will have her work cut out for her to stay in the top 100 in the world to earn direct entry to the Australian Open.

The 30-year-old Saville melted down after losing match point, annihilating her racquet on the court after the three-hour, 16 minute marathon.

Saville slumped to the court after the result where a double fault handed her rival the victory.

She then smashed the racquet five times on the court.

Saville was fuming. Photo: Channel 9

The frustration was clear on the racquet. Photo: Channel 9

Saville, who played alongside Ellen Perez in doubles at the Paris Olympics where they crashed to a first-round loss to US pair Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, has been battling plantar fasciitis in her foot.

Speaking after the match, Saville revealed she only played in New York because of the pay cheque that comes along with it.

In 2024, first round losers get $US100,000 ($A147k), while if she got through the first round, it would have gone up to $US140,000 ($A206k).

When asked if it was the only reason she played at the US Open, Saville said: “No. That is the truth.

“Like, where else will I make money? I lose money every week if I bring a coach. (I shouldn’t) play but where am I going to make prize money like that?

“I will regroup, maybe. I really want to play the Asian swing but sometimes I maybe feel like I don’t even want to do this thing anymore.

“The tennis is there but on some big points, I missed some shots that I would not have missed if I had some matches under my belt. That is not the level anyway. It was not a good level from me.

“There were some glimpses of good level, but overall I was so frustrated that it was that long, because I have probably made it worse. That is the thing, you can’t make it too much worse unless it snaps, which is not too bad.”

Saville was devastated. Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP

Saville also posted a picture on Instagram that seemingly showed her in hospital, writing: “Desperate times after losing a 3 hour match but I can’t walk lol”.

While the WTA has reported Saville has won over $5.7 million in prizemoney, the reality of professional tennis players is that it costs plenty of money as they pay for flights, accommodation and travel for every tournament they go to — and not only for them but their entire team.

For many tennis professionals, staying in the top 100 is essential to continue their careers to earn automatic entry to the grand slam tournaments to cover form slumps or injuries.

The 30-year-old Saville was also noncommittal about her future in the sport after a horror run of injuries including two knee reconstructions and an Achilles issue.

When asked if she was “totally fed up” with the constant injuries, she replied: “At this point, yeah.”

“Mentally, it was tough because I felt that at some point, I felt that I didn’t even deserve it, because I didn’t put in the work. It is just a cycle,” she said.

“I have had it before when I was playing injured and it is just a horrible cycle. (I’m thinking), ‘Do I even want to do this anymore?’.

“I’m really negative right now. I don’t know how I will feel tomorrow and probably I won’t feel that way in a few days, but it is not fun playing injured.”

Originally published as ‘Don’t want to do this anymore’: Daria Saville’s $147k ‘truth’ in US meltdown