“It’s none of my business,” Aryna Sabalenka UNFAZED by the ‘hate’ Marta Kostyuk has for Russians and Belarussians ahead of their tense first-round clash at French Open
While speaking at the media conference, Sabalenka said that she understands the sentiment of the Ukrainian players but would like to keep sports separate from politics.
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Aryna Sabalenka and Marta Kostyuk ( Credits: Tennis.com and Reuters)
Aryna Sabalenka will be facing the Ukrainian player, Marta Kostyuk, in the first round of the Roland Garros. With the ongoing war between their nations, Kostyuk has earlier refused a handshake with the Russian and Belarussian players. During the press conference in Paris, Sabalenka stated that she can’t change the hate directed towards her by the Ukrainians and would like to focus on her performance.
The World No.2 had an incredible start this year. She claimed her maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open. With the start of the clay tours, the Belarussian reached the final of the Stuttgart Open. However, she fell short of the brilliant performance of Iga Swiatek. At Madrid, Sabalenka outperformed the World No.1 to claim her first clay court title of the season. Later, at the Rome Open, the 25-year-old faced a first-round exit at the hands of Sofia Kenin.
At the Roland Garros, the Australian Open champion will have a first-round clash with Marta Kostyuk. This will be their second WTA Head2Head with Sabalenka leading the record by 1-0. The players will be meeting for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kostyuk has earlier criticized the Russian and Belarussian players for not openly voicing their stand against the war.
While speaking at the media conference, Sabalenka said that she understands the sentiment of the Ukrainian players but would like to keep sports separate from politics. The 25-year-old added that she is okay with the ‘no handshake’ policy and couldn’t change the nationality-based hate directed towards her.
“I don’t want to waste my energy on this kind of stuff, you know. This is like, it’s not about—it’s none of my business, you know. So, if she hates me, okay. I can’t do anything about that,” she said.
Related: French Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Vesely Preview, Prediction and Live Stream
Aryna Sabalenka named the most hated female tennis player
The Belarussian player holds a career record of one single major, two doubles majors, and a total of 19 WTA titles. In spite of her numerous accolades, Sabalenka has been named the most hated female tennis player by a recent report. The World Sports Network (WSN) conducted research to determine the amount of negative sentiment directed toward the players.
According to their report, the 25-year-old has received the most negative feedback, with fifteen percent on Twitter and five percent of angry reactions on Facebook. At the second and third spots are Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia, respectively, with a negative reaction of ten percent. The World No. 1, Iga Swiatek, has been placed in the fourth spot with seven percent, followed by Coco Gauff at five percent.
In response to the online abuse, the French Open organizers will be providing the players with an AI moderator for their social media accounts. This will protect the players from racism, hate speech, and online bullying, as the comments will be filtered in real-time.
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Tanushree Verma
(52 Articles Published)