Sabalenka fed up with questions, boycotts press at Roland Garros: "I feel unsafe here"

Prior to Roland Garros, Aryna Sabalenka knew that she would receive questions about the war in Ukraine. The tennis player from Belarus often answers them, but on Wednesday, she had had enough of a journalist who kept persistently asking. "The questions don't bother me after my matches, but on Wednesday, I didn't feel safe in the press conference," said Sabalenka.

A journalist from Ukraine asked whether, as a role model, Sabalenka should not speak out more explicitly about the war. Sabalenka then extensively addressed the questions. On Wednesday, the same journalist confronted her with more personal questions. Sabalenka was confronted with a letter she allegedly signed in 2020 expressing support for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The tennis player preferred not to answer that question. "I have no comment, so thank you for your question," Sabalenka firmly replied to the same journalist, who continued to press for an answer. Someone from the organization had to intervene. "We know enough, it's clear..." the reporter countered. For the tennis player, that was the final straw.

Sabalenka no longer felt safe

Sabalenka made it clear on Friday that she had had enough. After her victory over Russian player Kamilla Rachimova, Sabalenka skipped the press conference. Without the knowledge of the present press, the tennis player gave an interview to a staff member of the French Tennis Federation. "For many months, I have been answering questions at tournaments and have been very open about my feelings and thoughts. The questions don't bother me after my matches, but on Wednesday, I didn't feel safe in the press conference," Sabalenka said in the interview.

"I need to feel safe when I do interviews with journalists after my matches. For my own mental health and well-being, I have decided to distance myself from it, and the tournament has supported me in this decision," added the Belarusian player. Normally, media are given the opportunity to interview a player at a press conference after a match. In Sabalenka's case, it was limited to an interview made available through the intranet.

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