Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka stresses that Alexander Lukashenko’s comments about her “do not help”. The second player in the world ranking joined the WTA tournament in Stuttgart last night.
“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t help. I don’t know what to say because he can comment on my game, he can comment on whatever he wants. I have nothing to do with politics. If the Ukrainians hate me more after his word, what can I do?” Sabalenka asked in an interview with journalists in Stuttgart.
“If I could stop the war, I would, but unfortunately it’s not for me to decide,” she added.
Aryna Sabalenka on Belarusian leader, Lukashenko, praising her: “If Ukrainians hate me more after his speech, what can I do? If they feel better hating me, I’d be happy to help them. If I could stop the war I would, but unfortunately it’s not in my hands and not in my control.” pic.twitter.com/TFpZS2zNkE
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 18, 2023
Lukashenko, president of Belarus since 1994, is no longer recognized by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union as the legal representative of this country on the international scene since 2020 due to fraudulent elections. .
In January, Lukashenko celebrated Sabalenka’s victory at the Australian Open Grand Slam and recently said that people know which country a player is from, even if she is playing under a neutral flag.
Since March last year, the ATP and WTA tennis organizations have banned players from Russia and Belarus from competing under their country’s name or flag due to the war in Ukraine.
PAP / Marcin R.
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