World No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka was unable to play Wimbledon last year. Not because of an injury, but because the British Tennis Federation had followed the strong recommendations of its government and excluded Russian and Belarusian players, including Sabalenka, semi-finalist in 2021. the ATP and the WTA had made it known that they would not award any points at the end of the tournament. A beautiful mess according to Sabalenka, as she explained to the Melbourne Age.
“They banned us from Wimbledon, and what difference did that make? Nothing “
“I’m really disappointed that sport is getting political in one way or another. We are just athletes practicing their sport. That’s all. We don’t do politics.” she explains. She especially regrets that it was ultimately useless. “If we could do something, we would, but we have no control. They banned us from Wimbledon, and what difference did that make? Nothing, they keep waging this war, and that’s the sad thing about this situation. No one supports war. »
