Aryna Sabalenka ‘just really disappointed’ about politics in sport after Wimbledon ruling on players

Aryna Sabalenka has said she’s “just really disappointed” about how politics and sports mix as she reflected on Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players last summer.

The 24-year-old from Minsk, Belarus also made the point that “no one supports the war” and expressed her hope that she would be able to play at Wimbledon in 2023 because she “really missed the people” and the atmosphere at SW19, among other things.

“We’re just athletes playing their sport. That’s it. We’re not about politics. If all of us could do something [about the war], we would do it, but we have zero control.

“They banned us from Wimbledon, and what did it change? Nothing – they’re [the Russian government] still doing this, and this is the sad [part] of this situation.

“This is really terrible because no one supports war – no one. The problem is that we have to speak loud about that … but why should we scream about that in every corner? It’s not going to help at all. We have zero control over this situation.”

Reflecting on last summer, she continued: “It was a tough time. I was super disappointed with their decision.

“I really missed the people because the atmosphere at Wimbledon is super amazing. You can feel these people really love tennis there, and I really miss them.

“I really hope that I’ll play there [in 2023], just because of the people, to feel this atmosphere.

“But if they’re going to ban us again… I don’t care about Wimbledon’s decision. The only thing I’ll miss is the people.”

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