“I thought sports has nothing to do with politics,” Aryna Sabalenka gives her take on the ban on Belarusian and Russian flags at the Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka opens up about the situation of the ban on the display of Russian and Belarusian flags at the 2023 Australian Open
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Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka, the 24-year-old Belarusian professional is one of the top players in the women’s circuit. With 2 Grand Slam doubles titles to her name, Sabalenka is a force to be reckoned with on her day. The Belarusian has had quite the start to the 2023 Australian Open as she comfortably progressed to the second round of the tournament after beating Tereza Martincova.
Being from Belarus, Sabalenka always seems to be surrounded by controversies regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many tournaments banned the participation of Russian and Belarusian players due to the war and many have to play as neutral players in order to compete at tournaments. Tennis Australia banned the Belarusian and Russian flags after the display was condemned by Ukrainian ambassadors.
Sabalenka recently opened up about the situation, she said, “”I really thought that like tennis – not tennis, just the sport – is nothing to do with politics, But, I mean, if everyone feels better this way, then it’s okay. I mean, I have zero control on it. What can I say? They did it, okay, no flags, no flags. Okay. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure they (‘re) upset about that, and, I mean, if Tennis Australia made this decision to make them feel better, okay. They did it, I mean, what can I do, okay? I can do nothing.“
Related: “I barely say Hi,” Marta Kostyuk continues to snub Russian and Belarusian colleagues
Aryna Sabalenka to face Shelby Rogers in the second round of the Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka had quite the start to her Australian Open campaign this time around. She faced Czech professional Tereza Martincova in the first round of the tournament. The Belarusian made quick work of Martincova as she defeated her in straight sets by 6-1, 6-4, it just took Sabalenka one hour and nine minutes to breeze past Martincova and advance to the second round.
Sabalenka has now won her last 10 Grand Slam round one matches, She will be going up against American professional Shelby Rogers in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open. It is going to be an encounter that is once again in favour of Sabalenka as she is the favorite to come out on top and progress further into the tournament.
Shelby Rogers is coming off of a win against Arianne Hartono in the first round. Rogers also dispatched of her opponent in straight sets as she won the game by 6-4, 6-3. Rogers will have to stay on top of her game if she wants any chance at beating Sabalenka and progress into the third round of the tournament.
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