Aryna Sabalenka, the current world number one from Belarus, claims that she did absolutely nothing bad to any Ukrainian players as a result of their unfair treatment.
The two European neighbors, Russia and Ukraine are, currently engaged in an armed confrontation that began in February of last year and has claimed lives on both sides. Because of this, several Ukrainian participants have publicly chosen not to shake hands with those from Russia and Belarus.
Another incident of this kind occurred at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open when Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine withdrew from the match without facing Sabalenka. Later, she said that one of the factors influencing her decision not to compete against the top-ranked player was her nationality.
In a media interview, Sabalenka addressed the matter and said she holds the opinion that she should treat every Ukrainian player fairly. Sabalenka shared her thoughts about this and said: “Nobody can control the emotions of others, you know. And I think WTA is doing their best to kind of control it. Yeah, of course, it’s a lot of tension between us. I mean, I still have this belief that I did nothing bad to Ukrainians; not me, not Russian athletes, not Belarusian athletes, not one of us did something bad. Even some of us are like helping. Like not like, how to say, publicly, yes.”
Sabalenka added: “So what else I can say? I think WTA is doing really great job of supporting both sides, and whatever — I mean, I cannot control their emotions. I was through so many bad things, and unfortunately, I’m not able to say that because who’s going to believe a Belarusian girl? I mean, talking about her coach. I have been through also through hell, and I understand that… I don’t know.”
Aryna Sabalenka in 2023
Currently the world no.1, the Belarussian played her last match on the 9th of September when she was overcome by world no.3 Cori Gauff 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the U.S. Open (draw).
This year Sabalenka has achieved a composed 50-11 match record. Sabalenka clinched 3 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open and Madrid. Aryna got to the final in Indian Wells, Stuttgart and U.S. Open.