Sabalenka should not be responsible for the actions of two dictators

At the time, Sabalenkova was under pressure from other Ukrainian players and the media to condemn the Russian invasion and the Belarusian leader. He felt like she did it slowly.

Given Lukashenko’s history of cracking down on anyone who opposes his regime, it would be understandable if Sabalenka was under the same pressure to keep any doubts to herself.

At Roland-Garros in 2023, she withdrew from the public eye after her views on the invasion were constantly questioned.

“I know I have to answer to the media about things that are not related to my tennis or my matches, but on Wednesday [after winning in the second round] I did not feel safe at the press conference,” Sabalenka said at the time.

“I should feel safe doing interviews with journalists after matches.

Thanks to Oliynyk’s attitude singling out Sabalenka, the world number one was again asked about her views on war and she only replied that she was “for peace”.

The Ukrainians’ broader point is that all Russian and Belarusian players should be banned from the sport because of their countries of origin; that their presence on the world stage – even when not competing under their national flags – makes it easier for their leaders to co-opt their achievements as part of their propaganda machines.

Wimbledon introduced such a ban in 2022, but lifted it the following year on the condition that players not support or receive funding from their governments.

Again, it’s no wonder that Oliynyk would take personal offense to see Russian and Belarusian players strutting their stuff on the court and on Instagram while her country is reduced to rubble. Whether they should be held accountable for the decisions of their governments is another matter.

There are plenty of Russian born and bred players who have left their homeland at the Australian Open.

New Australian citizen Daria Kasatkina defected in part because, as a gay woman who opposed the war, she could not live safely in Russia. But do we really think that most tennis players who have switched allegiances have done so for moral reasons?

Long before the invasion of Ukraine, the former Soviet state of Kazakhstan embarked on an aggressive recruitment campaign that the AFP news agency called “hire a Russian.” Elena Rybakina, who won Wimbledon when Russian and Belarusian players were banned in 2022, and world number 10 Alexander Bublik are among those who explained they had swapped passports because of the extraordinary financial support offered to them by oil-rich Kazakhstan.

Loading

Oliynyk isn’t the only Ukrainian to make a political statement — Elina Svitolina didn’t shake hands with Russian magician Mirra Andreev on Sunday night, and Andreeva didn’t expect her to.

But as Sabalenka said TheAgeBefore Marc McGowan won her first Australian Open, the ban only served to punish the players for the actions of their leaders.

“No one supports war — no one,” she said. “The problem is that we have to talk about it out loud… but why should we shout about it on every corner? It won’t help at all. We have zero control in this situation.”

Read more about the Australian Open: