Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka Faced 'Hate' in Locker Room Over Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Posted : 11 April 2023
Aryna Sabalenka, the second-ranked player in the world from Belarus, claims that the locker room has been filled with "hate" because of her nation's involvement in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Australian Open winner also claimed to have engaged in weird conversations with players' teams. Belarus, a Russian ally, permitted troops to use its country to start the invasion last year.
"It was really tough to understand that there's so many people who hate me for no reason," said Sabalenka.
"I did nothing."
Since the conflict began, athletes from both nations have been categorized as neutral and were prohibited from competing in Wimbledon.
Before the Miami Open began, Sabalenka, who on Sunday lost to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in the championship match of Indian Wells, made a statement:
"It was really tough for me because I've never faced that much hate in the locker room," she said. "There are a lot of haters on Instagram when you're losing matches, but in the locker room I've never faced that.
"I had some, not like fights, but I had some weird conversations with, not the girls, but with members of their team. It was tough. It was [a] tough period. But now it's getting better."
Ukraine ‘s Lesia Tsurenko, who had a panic attack following a discussion on the sport's response to Russia's invasion with Women's Tennis Association (WTA) CEO Steve Simon withdrew from a match against Sabalenka, the 2023 Australian Open champion, at Indian Wells last week.
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