The world’s second-ranked Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (Aryna Sabalenka) said on the 17th that the World Women’s Professional Tennis Association (WTA) has shown its best efforts in supporting Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian players as the war in Ukraine continues. Well done.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the trio met in the locker room and there was tension.
Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko withdrew from her Indian Wells tournament third-round match against Sabalenka.
Zhu Lianke said she was so shocked after a conversation with WTA President Steve Simon about the tennis world’s reaction to the Russian invasion that she had a panic attack and was unable to play.
According to Zhu Lianke, Simon believes that Russian and Belarusian players will be able to return to Wimbledon and the Olympics. “I was shocked by what I heard. He told me that he did not support the war, but if the Russian and Belarusian players supported it, it was only their opinion, and the opinion of others should not disturb me,” Zhulenko said. Simon also said there was no violation of fair play and Olympic principles by including athletes from both countries.
Belarus has been a staging ground for Russian troops in what Russia calls a “special military operation” against Ukraine.
World tennis star Iga Swiatek has called for more support for Ukrainian players following Zhulenko’s retirement and said tennis leadership was not doing enough.
Sabalenka advanced to the Indian Springs Championship on the 17th. “No one can control other people’s emotions. I think the WTA has done its best,” she said after the match.
Sabalenka said there was still tension between the players, but that individual athletes did nothing wrong, “I didn’t, Russian athletes didn’t, Belarusian athletes didn’t; none of us did anything wrong. So, what can I say ? I think the WTA has done a good job in supporting players from both sides.”
“All of us tried to keep calm in the locker room and understand that it was not our fault, all of us understood the Ukrainians and we really felt sorry for them,” Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka, who was unable to compete as a Belarusian, became the first player to win a Grand Slam as a neutral player when she won the Australian Open women’s singles title this year.
Sabalenka will face Russian-born Kazakh Elena Rybakina in the women’s singles final at Indian Springs.
