(Miami Gardens) Belarusian world number two Aryna Sabalenka lamented Tuesday that she has faced “hatred” from some Ukrainians on the world circuit since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
“It was really, really hard for me, because I had never faced so much hatred in the locker room,” she said on Tuesday in Miami, on the sidelines of the WTA tournament, in response to a question. over what she described as “tensions” between her and Ukrainian players.
“Obviously on Instagram there are a lot of people who hate you as soon as you lose games, but what I experienced in the locker room, I had never faced it,” she continued.
“We didn’t fight, but we had strange conversations, not with the girls, but with the members of their entourage. Really it was a tough time, but now it’s better, ”testified the Belarusian champion, who has the right to compete on the world circuit but under a neutral banner, as well as Russian athletes.
“I had a hard time understanding that there are so many people who hate me for no reason, no reason. I mean, I didn’t do anything,” insisted the Australian Open winner.
In Indian Wells last week, Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko withdrew rather than face Sabalenka, claiming to have had a “panic attack”, following a conversation with the president and CEO of the WTA Steve Simon, who was trying to justify the fact that Russians and Belarusians were not excluded from the circuit.
Sabalenka claims to be better now: “I realized that it was not my fault and that I had done them no harm. And I’m sure the other Russian and Belarusian athletes didn’t do anything to the Ukrainians either.”
“I just realized that these are all emotions and I have to ignore them, focus on myself. […] I can’t control other people’s emotions,” she explained.