Reuters
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Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka said she struggled to understand the “hate” she encountered in the dressing room amid strained relations between some players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The world number two has previously said she has nothing against the Ukrainians and feels bad for them as the Moscow action rages on. Belarus has been a staging area for the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
“It was really tough for me because I’ve never faced so much hate in the locker room,” Sabalenka said ahead of the Miami Open. “There’s a lot of haters on Instagram when you lose games, but in the dressing room I’ve never faced that.
“It was really hard to understand that there are so many people who hate me for no reason. I didn’t do anything.”
Australian Open champion Sabalenka lost Sunday’s Indian Wells final to Elena Rybakina.
Earlier in the tournament, Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko pulled out of her match against Sabalenka following a panic attack sparked by a conversation with WTA chief Steve Simon about tennis’ response to the Russian invasion.
Sabalenka said she had had “strange conversations” with members of certain players’ teams over the past year.
“It was really difficult, but now it’s better,” she said.
World number one Iga Swiatek has called for more support to be offered to Ukrainian players, saying tennis management is not doing enough, but two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka from Belarus says it’s not not the case.
“There are certain players who have different feelings and behaviors. Overall, I don’t necessarily share the same opinion as Iga,” Azarenka said.
“I encourage him to look at the things that have been done before commenting. As a player council member, I’m happy to provide the facts. That would be a more appropriate way to have this conversation.
