‘Too cute’: World reacts to adorable Aryna Sabalenka mini-me moment at US Open

Aryna Sabalenka romped into the third round of the US Open but some adorable scenes overshadowed her on-court performance.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has warmed the hearts of fans after an adorable fan interaction with a mini-me fan at the US Open.

Sabalenka, who dispatched Aussie Priscila Hon in straight-sets in the first round, dominated Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-1 in an hour to set up a third round clash with 29th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

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But while the Australian Open champion was in a dominant mood on the court with her seventh straight straight-sets win, she melted hearts immediately after the match when she met one of her biggest fans.

After claiming the win, Sabalenka sought out a young girl in the crowd who was dressed in the same Nike dress as the Belarusian.

She even matched Sabalenka’s iconic tiger tattoo — presumably a temporary one — on her left forearm. The youngster was also holding a plush tiger.

“Can I take a picture with you?” Sabalenka asked as she got out her phone for a selfie.

Sabalenka was all smiles. Photo by KENA BETANCUR / AFP

The adorable scenes melted hearts. Photo: Twitter

The commentators said: “It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for”, having pointed out the young girl through the match and calling her “adorable”.

Sabalenka also signed a giant pink tennis ball for her young doppleganger.

“It was a really adorable moment,” Sabalenka said after the match. “I just looked up, and I saw on the big screen, like, a mini me. It was so cute.

“It’s such a motivation to keep going to inspire the young generation. That’s the main goal.”

Sabalenka also shared the image on Twitter with the comment: “How adorable is she!?”

The US Open shared the video widely with plenty of reactions for the sweet scenes.

World No. 17 Ons Jabeur commented: “Too cute.”

Tennis Channel host Dani Klupenger wrote: “Can’t handle the cuteness.”

Former US star John Isner posted: “That is awesome!”

The Tennis Letter called it the “moment of the tournament”, adding Sabalenka was “very classy”.

The little girl was loving it. Photo: Twitter

Sabalenka, who has won the last two Australian Open titles, was the runner up to America’s Coco Gauff in last years’ US Open final.

Sabalenka has been turning it up in the last two years, having made quarterfinals or better in her last seven grand slam appearances.

She is also looking to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win both hard court Grand Slam titles in the same year.

“I told myself you have to stay focused from the first point to the last point and make sure you’re not going to stay here a crazy number of hours,” Sabalenka said.

Originally published as ‘Too cute’: World reacts to adorable Aryna Sabalenka mini-me moment at US Open