Aryna Sabalenka sidesteps political questions after being in tears after Wimbledon ban last year
- Planet Sport writer
- 1 July 2023
Aryna Sabalenka admits she was left in tears having to watch Wimbledon last year during a ban on Russian and Belarusian players, but holds no expectations as she heads back to the All England Club.
Aryna Sabalenka recalled how she was left in tears after being forced to miss Wimbledon last year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned.
Following last year's ban due to the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarussian players will be able to play in next week's showpiece tournament after Wimbledon organisers were heavily fined and threatened with further sanctions by tennis' governing bodies.
Women's number two Sabalenka will find herself in the spotlight once again, having opted out of some media obligations at the French Open citing mental health and well-being concerns following some terse exchanges with journalists.
Sabalenka made it clear ahead of a pre-tournament press conference held at Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon that she had no intentions of addressing the issues once again.
"Before we continue I would like to say I'm not going to talk about politics. I'm here to talk about tennis only. Please respect that," Sabalenka said.
"If you have any kind of political questions, you can ask WTA or the tournament. They can send you the transcript of my answers from the previous tournaments."
Sabalenka added: "It's my personal decision."
The world number two recalled how last year's ban had been tough to endure.
"I was at home having a little vacation, then practicing, but, no, I didn't watch Wimbledon a lot," she said.
"I felt so bad and I just couldn't watch it. Every time if Wimbledon would be on TV, I would cry, so I decided just to stay away from Wimbledon last year.
"I am always telling myself that the best I can do is focus on things I have control on. That is really helping a lot to not think about anything else on the tennis."
Having enjoyed a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2021, Sabalenka is hoping for another deep run in the tournament, which starts against Hungarian Panna Udvardy on Tuesday.
"I'm super emotional right now. I'm super happy to be back. I really miss this place," she said.
"When I got here first time, I was just like enjoying (it). I couldn't believe that I'm here.
"I'm feeling good. I don't have any kind of expectations. The only one expectation I have is just to bring my best tennis every time I'm on the court, and hopefully I'll do it.
"I only have hope that they (Wimbledon crowd) will support me as they did last year - hopefully."
Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January, but suffered a disappointing defeat to unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
"That was really tough, tough end of the tournament," said Sabalenka, who only made it to the second round in Berlin.
"I was really disappointed with that loss, but then we spoke with my team. It was a good lesson for me.
"I just had few days off, and then start my preparation for the grass season."
