Aryna Sabalenka snubs French Open press conference again ahead of clash with Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina
ROLAND GARROS — Aryna Sabalenka once again refused to speak to media after beating Sloane Stephens to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Belarus’s Sabalenka said she did not “feel safe” in a press conference last week when she was quizzed over her stance on the regime in her home country and their role in the invasion of Ukraine.
She subsequently declined press conference requests after her third-round match and only spoke to a member of staff for the women’s professional tour (WTA), which she then did again on Sunday night.
Her refusal is particularly poignant given she now plays Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the quarter-final, arguably the most high-profile confrontation between a Ukrainian athlete and a Russian or a Belarusian since last year’s invasion.
Svitolina had earlier in the day beaten Daria Kasatkina, who is Russian but has moved to Spain and had in her players’ box singer Zemfira Ramazanova, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime. She also refused to shake Kasatkina’s hand, as she has all Russian and Belarusian players, but did offer her a thumbs-up, an indication that it was a political but not a personal decision.
Asked whether anything would be change when she plays Sabalenka on Tuesday, Svitolina said: “I have played last two matches against Russian players so it will not change, everything will be same.
“So I’m used to it now, it’s gonna be the same.”
Sabelenka had jumped out to a 5-0 lead, threatening to bear out the fears of tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, who had scheduled six straight men’s matches in the primetime evening slot before finally allowing two women to play the night match, that it would be over inside the hour to disappoint ticket-holders.
“I think it was just like few key moments which I didn’t finish right, and then she start to believe in herself a little bit more,” Sabalenka added.
“People start to support her more. She kind of play with that crush and was going for the shots. I think she played unbelievable tennis.”
However, Stephens rallied impressively to force a tie-break as Sabalenka racked up 24 unforced errors in the set, but crucially only two of those came in the resulting tie-break that the Belarusian won.
The No 2 seed edged a tight second set too, breaking at the crucial moment at 4-5 and then holding to love, cleaning the lines with her serve on multiple occasions to seal victory in 101 minutes and book a meeting with Svitolina.
“She’s playing really great tennis here in Paris, moving well,” Sabalenka said.
“[She is] another player that’s gonna run a lot and put a lot of balls back, and I just have to be patient and wait for that perfect shot to finish the point. Don’t rush myself.
“Just go there and fight and show my best tennis.”
