“I am for peace, nothing has changed”: Sabalenka responds to the Ukrainian political shot

Oliynyk told this masthead earlier this week that the presence of top Belarusian and Russian players on tour and Grand Slams was “very bad”, despite not competing under their countries’ flags.

Belarus’ Sabalenkova has previously repeatedly stated that she does not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nor Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and that she only wants peace in Ukraine. Lukashenko is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This blurb does not suggest that Oliynyk’s claims are true, only that they were made.

When asked about the Ukrainian’s opening comments after her second-round win on Wednesday, Sabalenka said she wanted peace.

“I’ve talked about it a lot, of course. I want peace, and if I could make a difference, I certainly would,” she said.

“Other than that, I have nothing to say.

She politely refused to answer the question of whether it was appropriate for her opponent to challenge her individually.

“Listen, I’m here for tennis. It’s a tennis event, I’ve said enough in the past and I don’t want to talk about politics,” she said.

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Oliynyk lost to reigning champion Madison Keys in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. After the match, she wore a t-shirt highlighting her campaign to raise funds to fight the war in Ukraine.

“I think it’s very bad that they are not disqualified in tennis like in other sports,” Oliynyk told this masthead.

“Because I know there’s a picture of us here, like all the tennis girls that play, but people don’t see the things behind it.”

“And these are, you know, people with money and power who are using it to promote aggression against my country.”

The Women’s Tennis Association has been contacted for comment.

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