Aryna Sabalenka receives support from French Open director Amelie Mauresmo as the Belarusian refuses to turn up for press conferences

The Belarusian World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka looks in great touch as she inches closer to her first French Open crown and thereby becomes the World No.1 player for the first time in her career.

Aryna Sabalenka receives support from French Open director Amelie Mauresmo as the Belarusian refuses to turn up for press conferences

Amelie Mauresmo and Aryna Sabalenka

French open director and tennis legend, Amelie Mauresmo backs the decision of Belarusian World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka‘s decision to skip the post-match press conferences. She said that an athlete has the freedom to skip press conferences if that feels best for their mental strength probably thinking about the examples of Naomi Osaka previously who found it difficult to deal with the mental pressure of the outside world.

As Mauresmo said, “She came out of her first two conferences very touched, to say the least, with the different experiences that we had in the past in terms of mental health, we decided to accede to his request and she was not the only one to formulate it. That politics invites itself into sport does not necessarily shock me and Afterwards, when there is a request for an opinion, you have to respect the athlete if he does not wish to express himself on the subject.”

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Continuing her train of thought, Mauresmo added, “This becomes problematic if a question is repeatedly asked that the Athlete has said they do not wish to answer., he doesn’t have to be put in this situation and there must be a cordial understanding between the two parties and the athlete must respect the questions, but the journalist must respect the athlete’s wish if he does not want to speak.” (Source: We love Tennis, translated via Google)

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Also Read: Iga Swiatek’s press conference halted abruptly by moderator at the French Open after questions on Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka has moved to the quarter-final of the French Open 2023

aryna sabalenka
Aryna Sabalena at 2023 French Open (Image via CNN)

The Belarusian World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka looks in great touch as she inches closer to her first French Open crown and thereby becomes the World No.1 player for the first time in her career. She is scheduled to meet the unseeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the quarter-final to book a seat in the final four.

Sabalenka showed the mentality of a true champion while defeating the unseeded American Sloane Stephens in the fourth round after trailing 0-5 in the first set where she came back strong to close the deal in straight sets eventually, the final score was 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. The Belarusian has already gone through a lot of mental traumas in her career. Being a Belarusan, it was in the first round here that the Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk‘s act of not giving a handshake made headlines.

Sabalenka is expected to meet Iga Swiatek in the finals of the French Open according to the projected draw. With Elena Rybakina‘s withdrawal, Swiatek will be having a more comfortable ride in the semi-finals if she can get past the American teen Coco Gauff in one of the blockbuster quarter-finals.

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