Aryna Sabalenka (Image Credit: Tennis Channel - Twitter)
Here’s everything you need to know about Aryna Sabalenka’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict – does she support Russia’s war on Ukraine?
Aryna Sabalenka has openly expressed her lack of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and her nation’s president. Belarus served as a starting point for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February the previous year.
Despite her victory at the Australian Open in January, President Vladimir Putin’s close ally, Belarusian President Lukashenko, publicly celebrated Sabalenka’s win and emphasized her Belarusian identity even if she competed under a neutral flag. However, when questioned about her personal stance on condemning the war, Sabalenka chose not to comment.
During the French Open earlier this year, Aryna Sabalenka faced extensive scrutiny from the media regarding her stance on the war and her country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, as she holds the highest ranking among Belarusian players and is also one of the top-ranked players globally at No. 2. Sabalenka endured a barrage of questions about her feelings towards the conflict, and for several months, she refrained from condemning it. However, in Paris, she finally stated, “I don’t endorse war, which implies I don’t endorse Lukashenko, the Belarus leader.”
Aryna Sabalenka, originally from Minsk, Belarus, comes from a sports-oriented family. Her late father, Sergey, had a background in ice hockey. Interestingly, her entry into the world of tennis was rather coincidental. While on a drive with her father one day, they stumbled upon tennis courts and decided to give the sport a shot. Sabalenka quickly developed a strong passion for tennis, marking the beginning of her tennis journey.
In 2014, she officially started her training at the National Tennis Academy in Minsk, which opened its doors that year. Notably, in 2015, even though she was still eligible for junior tournaments, the Belarusian Tennis Federation encouraged Sabalenka and her team to shift their focus towards participating in lower-level professional competitions.
Sabalenka’s parents are Sergey and Yulia Sabalenka. Her father, Sergey, played a significant role in introducing her to tennis, a sport she developed a deep passion for and ultimately pursued professionally. Tragically, Sergey, who was a former hockey player, passed away in 2019 at the age of 43 due to health complications.
On the other hand, Aryna has maintained a private stance regarding her mother, Yulia, with limited information available about her. While Aryna shares aspects of her life on social media, she tends to keep her family life relatively private, occasionally mentioning her boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov.
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