No, you weren’t seeing double at the US Open.
Aryna Sabalenka had a solid day on the tennis court Wednesday in New York, defeating Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour.
But the highlight of the day for the world No. 2 may very well have been meeting her “mini me.”
At Louis Armstrong Stadium, a young fan at the second-round match was decked out in a replica of Sabalenka’s pink Nike dress and with a tiger stuffed animal. She was seen cheering Sabalenka on throughout the match.
The fan even had a tattoo on her arm like Sabalenka – through presumably the fan’s tattoo was fake.
“It was really adorable moment,” Sabalenka said. “I just looked up, and I saw on the big screen, like, mini me. It was so cute.
“It’s such a motivation to keep going to inspire the young generation.”
Sabalenka thanked her lookalike after her win, saying in her on-court interview, “You’re so cute, and I hope you’re going to be on this level soon.”
In a heart melting scene, the dynamic duo met, with Sabalenka giving her superfan a hug and taking photos with her.
“(This was) the first time I see someone dress up the same as me and having little tattoo and little tiger. How cute is that?” Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka, who won the Cincinnati Open last week, in on a seven-match win streak and has won 14 consecutive sets.
Sabalenka, a finalist at the US Open last year, is seeking to sweep the hard court grand slam events this year, having won the Australian Open for the second consecutive year back in January. She will face No. 29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round.