The second-ranked women’s tennis player in the world, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, has said that the women’s tour locker room has been hostile to her. She is however certain that the hostilities between the players from Belarus and Ukraine will eventually ease.
At the media day for this week’s ATP-WTA Miami Open, Australian Open winner Sabalenka was questioned about her previous comments about “tensions” in the locker-room involving Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarus players. Sabalenka fell to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells final on Sunday.
Sabalenka remarked, “I’ve never experienced so much hatred in the locker room. That was very, really difficult for me.
When you lose matches, there are undoubtedly many haters online, but she said, “Like in the locker room, I’ve never encountered that.
“It was really difficult for me to comprehend that so many people actually dislike me for no apparent reason. In the sense that I accomplished nothing, “She spoke.
The strain, according to Sabalenka, has occasionally risen past awkward pauses and hurried exchanges.
“I had some strange chats with some of their team members—not the girls—rather than actual conflicts. It was quite difficult. It was a difficult time. But now that things are improving, “She spoke.
Sabalenka said she had a disagreement with Nikita Vlasov, the coach of the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, in remarks made at Indian Wells.
At Indian Wells, Tsurenko was scheduled to play Sabalenka, but she withdrew before their match.
The Ukrainian said she suffered a “panic attack” and was also disturbed after speaking with WTA CEO Steve Simon about the conflict and the status of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Still not doing well
Sabalenka claimed that at first, she had difficulty adjusting to the locker-room environment.
“I was having a lot of trouble with it because I felt so awful, like I had done something wrong and the relationships with some of the Ukrainian females in the locker room were still not great. I afterwards understood that I wasn’t to blame and that I hadn’t hurt them in any way. Also, I’m rather certain that none of the other Russian and Belarusian athletes ever harmed Ukrainians “She spoke.
“I recently came to the realization that this is only emotion, and all I need to do is ignore it and concentrate on myself while knowing that I done nothing wrong. And I have no control over how other people feel “She said.
She observed that it appeared like everyone was just ignoring one another.
“There are some of the females that are particularly hostile toward us, albeit not all—I’m still speaking to several Ukrainians. I’m simply steering clear of that, “Sabalenka remarked.
Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked player in Poland, criticized the WTA for not supporting Ukrainian players sufficiently, claiming that “all we discuss in tennis is about Belarusian and Russian players.”
Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion from Belarus, disagreed with the viewpoint.
“It goes without saying that certain players exhibit various emotions and actions. In general, I don’t necessarily agree with Iga’s viewpoint. I would advise her to consider the work already done before making remarks “Azarenka, a player on the WTA Players Council, made the statement.
“Naturally, I’m pleased to share all of the information that has been gathered in my capacity as a player council member. And I believe having that talk in that manner would be more acceptable “Added she.
The British Wimbledon organizers disallowed the Russian and Belarusian competitors last year, but Sabalenka expressed optimism that they may reconsider for this year’s competition.
“While I could not influence their choice (from last year), I was quite saddened by it. I also sincerely hope they’ll let us play this year “She said.
