Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka refuses to comment on Russia’s war in Ukraine
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Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka reacts over a point at the French Open, while playing compatriot Iryna Shymanovich.
PHOTO: AFP
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PARIS – World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus refused on Wednesday to comment on the war in Ukraine and her country’s involvement as a staging post for Russian troops when asked specifically to condemn it.
The 25-year-old had been urged on Sunday by her French Open first-round opponent, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, to take a personal stand on the war.
“I have no comments to you, so thank you for your question,” she told a news conference, before a reporter asked about her relationship with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and whether a potential world No. 1 should be associated with him.
Sabalenka has met Mr Lukashenko in the past.
Mr Lukashenko, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s staunchest ally among its neighbours, celebrated Sabalenka’s Australian Open victory in January and said recently that people knew which country she hailed from, even if she was playing under a neutral flag.
“I’ve got no comments to you. You’ve got enough answers from me and I’ve got no comments to you,” she said.
Sabalenka said on Sunday that no Russian or Belarusian athlete supported the war.
In March 2022, tennis’ governing bodies barred players from Russia and Belarus from competing under the name or flag of either country due to the war, requiring them to play under neutral flags.
Kostyuk had refused to shake Sabalenka’s hand after losing 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday and urged the Belarusian to take a stronger, more personal stand against the war.
“She (Sabalenka) never says that she personally doesn’t support this war and I feel like journalists should change the questions you ask these athletes because the war is already there,” Kostyuk said.
Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie and Lucas Pouille both called for video replay to be introduced at the French Open after a row over an apparent double bounce which benefited the former on Wednesday.
Norrie hit the ball after it had appeared to bounce twice to win a point early in the third set of their second-round clash.
The 14th seed then broke for a 3-1 lead on his way to a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win over the 675th-ranked Frenchman, a former top-10 player.
Said Pouille: “I think today, we have so many options to check if it bounced twice or not. It’s easy with the video. You show it on the screen and you see straight away if it bounced or not because apparently they showed it on TV.”
Norrie added: “We have the technology to do it. I don’t know why we’re not doing it in all aspects. Sometimes, tournaments where they have, it seems, Hawkeye for the TV and then for the match, they don’t use it.”
REUTERS, AFP
