Home » Sport » Scandal at Roland Garros: Outrage over Aryna Sabalenka’s behavior towards Ukrainian journalist

Scandal at Roland Garros: Outrage over Aryna Sabalenka’s behavior towards Ukrainian journalist



PAP/EPA / TERESA SUAREZ / Pictured: Aryna Sabalenka

Arkadiusz Dudziak


The scandal with Aryna Sabalenka is spreading more and more. According to Dominik Senkowski from sport.pl, Polish and British journalists were outraged by the behavior of the Belarusian and the authorities of Roland Garros.

The scandal with Aryna Sabalenka is spreading more and more. The runner-up in the WTA ranking, when asked, never condemned both Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for the war unleashed in Ukraine.

Moreover, Sabalenka herself is known to have sided with Alexander Lukashenko during the protests following another rigged election in Belarus in 2020. While the dictator imprisoned and murdered protesting citizens of Belarus, Sabalenka proudly appeared on the list of athletes supporting the regime.

During this year’s Roland Garros, one of the Ukrainian journalists asked Aryna Sabalenka about the war after the matches of the first and second rounds, and she refused to answer. The Ukrainian woman’s discussion with the competitor was intermittent. However, after Friday’s match of the third round, an absurd situation occurred.

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The organizers decided to close the press conference at the request of the tennis player. She excused herself by saying that the whole situation… was affecting her mental health.

Ultimately, only selected journalists had the opportunity to participate in the meeting with the tennis player. As reported by Dominik Senkowski from sport.pl, it is not known whether the tennis player herself did not choose her interlocutors. According to the journalist’s account, Poles and the British were the most outraged by this situation.

An additional flavor of the situation is given by the fact that in 2021 Naomi Osaka also left the press conference driven by mental health issues. The French imposed a penalty on her, and all four Grand Slam tournament organizers issued a joint statement. They threatened that if she continued not to participate in conferences, she would be disqualified. The Japanese then withdrew from the tournament.

However, it seems that in tennis they are equal and more equal. Perhaps, however, Aryna Sabalenka will decide to hold a press conference after Sunday’s match of the fourth round. The Ukrainian journalist was supposed to go home on Saturday.

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2023-06-04 06:41:58
#Scandal #Roland #Garros #Poles #British #outraged

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