Vice-leader of the WTA rating in the fourth round of Roland Garros. On Friday, Arina Sobolenko won in two sets (6:2, 6:2) against Kamila Rakhimova. The Belarusian won, but decided to close the press conference. Sobolenko limited communication with the media to a scandalous minimum.
In 2023, Iga Sviontek has two exceptionally strong opponents. We are talking about Elena Rybakina, representing Kazakhstan, and Arina Sabalents from Minsk. In recent days, the Belarusian has received many questions about the war in Ukraine during the Roland Garros tournament. On Friday, the tennis player decided to distance herself from the problems that have been occurring beyond our eastern border since the end of February 2022.
Arina Sobolenko closed the press conference in Paris
The Belarusian is one of the favorites of the Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros. However, in Paris there have already been several scandalous situations involving a Minsker. It all started in the first round, when Sobolenko competed with Marta Kostyuk. The Ukrainian did not take a group photo before the match and did not shake hands with the Belarusian opponent after the match. Sobolenko reacted sharply to the behavior of her opponent.
The following days were not much better. The Belarusian has received several uncomfortable questions about the war in Ukraine and Alexander Lukashenko.
“I have no comments for you.” Thank you for your question and I ask for another one, the 25 year old answered with a straight face. At the same time, she avoided eye contact with the Ukrainian journalist. She, in turn, tried to move on. – Can you openly say: “He categorically condemned the fact that Belarus is attacking Ukraine with rockets, and I want this to stop”? she drilled. “I won’t comment on that,” Sobolenko said, clearly nervous.
Effect? After Friday’s victory over Kamila Rakhimova (6:2, 6:2), the Belarusian tennis player met with … selected people at a press conference. According to Sport.pl’s Dominik Sienkowski, Sabalenka has only dated members of the French Tennis Federation. This is a reaction to questions that did not concern sports, but politics.
Belarusian does not speak out about the war in Ukraine
It should be expected that Friday’s decision by Sobolenko (or her staff) will cause an even greater wave of discussions about aggression in Ukraine. Sobolenko is currently one of the most recognizable tennis players in the world.
The closer the Belarusian is to the final, the more topics will be not only in her game, but also in unsportsmanlike topics. We add that at the other end of this story is Iga Swiatek, who strongly supports Ukraine. Polka in Paris plays, according to many months of tradition, with a symbolic Ukrainian ribbon pinned to the hat.
Source: Wprost
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have been an author at Daily News Hack for the past 1 year. I mostly cover sports news, but I also have a keen interest in current affairs and politics. In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis and spending time with my family.
