The heat between the Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian tennis players is rising on the tennis court. With Lesia Tsurenko’s sudden withdrawal from the Indian Wells Masters, a lot of questions arose. The Belarusian tennis star, Aryna Sabalenka, who was supposed to play against her, shares her theory behind the sudden withdrawal.

In the second round of the tournament, the Ukrainian tennis player was all set to lock horns with the 24-year-old Australian Open champion. But things went south and Tsurenko walked away from the match after suffering a panic attack just before the clash. However, Sabalenka believes there’s more to the story than just a panic attack.

Aryna Sabalenka discusses Lesia Tsurenko’s unexpected withdrawal

In her recent Indian Wells press conference, the Australian Open champion expressed her thoughts on what she believed was the true cause of the sudden withdrawal, stating that a panic attack was not the only factor.

She said, “I was through so many bad things. And unfortunately, l’m not able to say that because who gonna believe Belarusian girl. I mean, talking about her coach and I have been also through hell… I mean, I think Tsurenko withdraw, there was more than panic attack or more than political situation. I think there is something more. I had really tough situation last year with her coach. The way he act to me. I think that guy puts so much pressure on her and that’s why that happened.”

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Sabalenka, who has known Dmitry Vlasov closely, believes that the actual reason behind this political controversy created in the Indian Wells is pressure. However, there are other concerns that might be behind the Ukrainian tennis player’s withdrawal.

What factors contributed to Tsurenko’s withdrawal?

When the 33-year-old tennis player won the match against Donna Vekic. she, as per the customary post-match routine, approached Vekic for a humble handshake. However, the Croatian tennis player refused to do so after her defeat against the Ukrainian star.

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Nonetheless, the obvious contempt for an experienced tennis player did not sit well with tennis fans, who raised concerns about the disrespectful situation. Notably, the 33-year-old suffered a panic attack after her conversation with the WTA CEO about other players supporting Russia and Belarus in the ongoing war in Ukraine, which was her reason behind the withdrawal.