Is Aryna Sabalenka becoming the new drama queen of tennis?

 What’s going on with Aryna Sabalenka? Her outburst in Halle, Germany, is just the latest in a growing list of tantrums. The world No. 1 lost her cool when the umpire halted her Berlin Open match due to poor light and dew.

Come on, Sabalenka — that’s the umpire’s call. Player safety comes first. Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova said the court was slippery, and that’s reason enough to halt play. Just because Sabalenka didn’t feel it doesn’t mean others should risk injury.

Sure, she may have wanted to close out the match quickly, but that’s not her decision to make. If the umpire deemed conditions unsafe, that’s final.

Sabalenka’s short fuse is frustrating, and surprising. I met her at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships two years ago and found her bright and bubbly.

Off court, the 27-year-old is a different person: all smiles, happily posing for selfies and signing autographs. At press conferences, she’s candid and playful. On social media, she posts fun training clips and glimpses of her holidays. Her dance videos with her team are often viral hits.

So why the rage?

Her meltdown after losing to Coco Gauff at the French Open painted a poor picture. "I don't think she [Gauff] won the match because she played incredibly well, but because I made all those mistakes," she said after the final.

Before the Berlin Open, Sabalenka told Eurosport: "I let my emotions guide me. I absolutely regret what I said." She even wrote to Gauff to apologise, saying: “I respect her.”

That’s growth. But she needs to do better.

Sabalenka isn’t Serena Williams, who’s had infamous run-ins with umpires, including the 2018 US Open final. But if she keeps this up, she could be heading down that path. And no one wants that.

We want to enjoy Sabalenka’s tennis. Not her tantrums.