It is well-known by now that Aryna Sabalenka doesn’t like talking about the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine. When asked about it in a recent interview with TIME magazine, the World No. 1 simply said, “I don’t want to talk about it.” But Sabalenka’s silence on the matter has now landed her in hot water as she has been called out by Belarusian politician Pavel Latushka.
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He is a part of the shadow cabinet, which is run by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Latushka used to be a cabinet minister and an ambassador under President Alexander Lukashenko. He has tried reaching out to Sabalenka on numerous occasions, but has never gotten a reply. He has now taken the social media route to get Sabalenka’s attention and demand answers from her.
“With great power Sabalenka comes great responsibility,” he wrote on X. “Recently, I saw a TIME magazine cover featuring a Belarusian woman. But is she really Belarusian? I’ve often wondered how to get in touch with Aryna Sabalenka to send her a message, but since I couldn’t, I’m making it public. Why can’t I accept Aryna Sabalenka?”
Latushka admitted that Sabalenka is one of the country’s most popular athletes, but he expected her to use her platform to spread her message about the country, which she doesn’t.
“Tennis and global sports are always about luxury and stardom; the whole world knows these athletes. Sabalenka is undoubtedly one of Belarus’s most prominent athletes, reaching the pinnacle of tennis alongside legends like Natasha Zvereva and Max Mirnyi,” he added.
Sabalenka has mostly distanced herself from discussions about the conflict. The 28-year-old is against the war and had previously stated that she does not support Lukashenko at the 2023 French Open. She has instead been focused on her game and has tried to improve it in every way she could.
Unlike most of the Russian and Belarusian players, the Ukrainian players have been very vocal about the conflict. Many of them have refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players. A great example of that is Elina Svitolina, who refused to do the customary post-match handshake with Anastasia Potapova and Ekaterina Alexandrova at the National Bank Open.
The incident with Potapova made headlines as she had changed her sporting allegiance from Russia to Austria last year and is now representing them. But Svitolina still decided not to shake hands with her, showing how serious she is about the issue.
It’s not just the players who are serious about the conflict, but even Ukrainian coaches also have the same mindset. Some of them even delivered harsh comments towards Sabalenka during the 2022 season after the tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated. That season was already quite tough for the Belarusian, but it became even worse when she had to deal with the mean stuff that was said about her.
Aryna Sabalenka used to cry after hearing the mean comments from the Ukrainian coaches
Opening up about the criticism she faced, Sabalenka remarked that it got so bad at times that it started affecting her game and mentality.
“Some of the Ukrainian coaches, they would say really, really, really mean stuff to me,” she said in the interview with TIME magazine. “I don’t want to repeat it. It was so terrible. So it got to my head, and I would be hysterically crying.”
The criticism only added another layer to Sabalenka’s burden. She failed to win any singles titles during the season and also struggled with her serve, committing a total of 452 double faults.
But the Belarusian found her footing by the end of the season. She reached the semifinals in both Cincinnati and the US Open before reaching the final of the WTA Final. This late-season surge would be the catalyst for her sensational 2023 season.
This was the year when Sabalenka won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open. She also won titles at the Adelaide International and Madrid Open. Moreover, she reached the final of the US Open and also took over the No. 1 spot in the rankings. It is still regarded as one of the most successful years that Sabalenka has had on the Tour.