War creates tension on tour
Belarusian players say Ukraine conflict has provoked ‘hate’
It was a picture-perfect Tuesday at the Miami Open. The sun was shining. The women’s main draw got underway. Fans sampled international cuisine and took selfies with the players.
But the mood got serious when reporters asked Belarusian players Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka about tensions on tour between Ukrainian, Russian and Belarus players.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Wimbledon ban of Russian and Belarusian players last summer, has led to some strained locker room relationships. The WTA and ATP tours barred players from Russia and Belarus from competing under their flags, so they have been competing with no designation.
Sabalenka, the world No. 2 who lost Sunday to Elena Ryabakina of Kazakhstan in the final at Indian Wells, Calif., said she has “never faced that much hate in the locker room. Of course, there are a lot of haters on Instagram when you’re losing the matches, but in the locker room, I’ve never faced that. It was really tough for me to understand that there’s so many people who really hate me for no reason, like no reason. I mean, like I did nothing.”
She said during the Indian Wells tournament that she had an uncomfortable confrontation with Nikita Vlasov, the coach of Ukraini- an player Lesia Tsurenko. Tsuren- ko was due to play Sabalenka but withdrew before their match. Tsu- renko said she had a panic attack after a conversation about the war with a tennis official.
“I had some, not like fights, but I had some weird conversations with, not the girls, but with mem- bers of their team,” Sabalenka said. “It was really, it was tough. It was tough period. But now it’s getting better.”
Sabalenka has been learning to navigate the situation better.
“At the beginning, I was really struggling with that because I really felt bad, like I did something and it’s still not so good in the locker room with some of the Ukrainian girls. But then I realized that it’s not my fault and I did nothing bad to them.