World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has received her UK visa and the Belarusian tennis star is officially set to return to Wimbledon this summer. In mid-May, Sabalenka revealed that she had yet to receive her UK visa.
On Thursday, Sabalenka suffered a surprise loss in the French Open semi-final to Karolina Muchova. The Czech came back from a 2-5 deficit in the third set to beat the Belarusian 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 7-5.
Sabalenka’s French Open didn’t end in the desired way, but the Belarusian still had some good news to share. “I received the visa.
I can celebrate that. I will be in London. I can not wait to return to. I missed it so much last year,” Sabalenka said, via The Tennis Letter.
Aryna Sabalenka confirms she now has a UK Visa and will be at Wimbledon this year.
“I received the visa.
I can celebrate. I’ll be in London. I can’t wait to go back. I missed it so much last year”. pic.twitter.com/A5GoMV0mfk — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 8, 2023
Sabalenka ready to return to Wimbledon
Last year, Wimbledon became the first and only tournament to impose bans on Russian and Belarusian players due to the war in Ukraine..
Earlier this year, Sabalenka became a Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open. After winning her maiden Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park, Sabalenka admitted being denied entry to Wimbledon six months earlier had been “a difficult time for her”.
“I mean missing Wimbledon was very hard on me. It was a difficult time for me. It’s not Wimbledon that matters right now. What matters is the hard work I put in.
I think everyone knows that I am a Belarusian player. That’s all. It’s hard to explain what I’m feeling right now. I’m just very happy and proud. I do not know how to explain it.
It’s the most beautiful day of my life. I’m going to eat a good pizza and lots of sweets. Maybe some champagne,” Sabalenka said after winning the Australian Open. Sabalenka, 25, has already played four times at Wimbledon in her career.
Sabalenka had her best result at Wimbledon in 2021, when she reached the semi-final before losing to Karolina Pliskova.
2023-06-10 05:00:37
#Aryna #Sabalenka #update #visa #situation
