Aryna Sabalenka: "I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support the war"; the Belarusian world No 2 beat Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-4 in the quarter final at Roland Garros, with Svitolina booed after refusing to shake Sabalenka's hand at the end of the match
Tuesday 6 June 2023 17:59, UK
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka said 'I don't support the war' after booking her spot in the French Open semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Svitolina has refused to shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year and she did so again following her 6-4 6-4 defeat to Sabalenka.
Boos were heard as Svitolina walked straight back to her bench while Sabalenka waited at the net for her opponent.
Speaking to reporters after her win, Sabalenka said: "I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support the war.
"I don't support war, meaning I don't support [Belarus President] Alexander Lukashenko."
Meanwhile, as Svitolina addressed the media following the match, she stood by her decision to not shake Sabalenka's hand.
"I don't know, to be fair, what she was waiting for, because my statements were clear enough about the handshake," Svitolina said, before adding that she was "expecting" the boos that followed.
Asked if Sabalenka was looking to inflame the situation by standing at the net instead of also walking back to her bench, Svitolina said: "Yeah, I think so.
"My initial reaction, was like, what are you doing? Because, in all my press conferences I made my position clear.
"Maybe she's not on social media during the tournaments, but it is pretty clear. I made multiple statements that I'm not shaking hands, and she played obviously Marta [Kostyuk of Ukraine] as well in the first round. So it's quite simple."
Having booked her spot in the semi-finals, where she will face Czech player Karolina Muchova, Sabalenka addressed the media for the first time after failing to attend her two previous press conferences last week.
The world No 2 cited mental health reasons for he absence after being grilled about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding she did not feel safe at her press conferences.
"I really felt bad not coming here. I couldn't sleep," she told reporters on Tuesday. "Like all those bad feelings was in my head, I couldn't fall asleep.
"I don't regret the decisions. I felt really disrespected, and I felt really bad. I mean, Grand Slam, it's enough pressure to handle, and I just tried to focus on myself, on my game.
"I really hope that you guys will understand me, my feelings. You know that I really respect all of you... You can ask whatever you want. You will get all the information.
"But in the last press conference, I felt like my press conference became a political TV show, and I'm not expert in politics. I'm just a tennis player."
Sabalenka was not sanctioned by tennis authorities despite her absence from prior press conferences, a situation which Svitolina found puzzling.
"Definitely I think it should be equal for everyone. Like, for example, why Naomi [Osaka] got fined last time and this time there is no fine for the player, who also skips the press conference," she said.
"So this is like, if there would be no fine for Naomi, maybe it would be different but, you know, it should be equal for every situation."
In 2021, former world No 1 Osaka was fined $15,000 for skipping a post-match press conference at the French Open and threatened with tough sanctions by the board of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
The Japanese player subsequently withdrew from the tournament citing mental health concerns and later said she had been battling depression and anxiety for years.
