Aryna Sabalenka sparked outrage with comments that appeared to cause harm to women's tennis but has defended herself from widespread criticism.
During her Madrid Open pre-tournament press confidence, the Belarusian star candidly admitted that she doesn't watch a ton of tennis matches when she is not playing. But on the occasion she does, she prefers to watch men's tennis over women's.
The good-natured World No. 2 said that there's "more logic" and that it was "more interesting" to watch men's matches. The comments most certainly touched a nerve, with Sabalenka receiving a barrage of hateful feedback from fans, although their reactions were mixed.
Sabalenka clarified her stance in a post-match interview following her second-round win over Magda Linette. The 25-year-old insisted that she wants to "change the picture" because she is fond of playing fellow women all the time.
Additionally, the defending champion explained that she tends to study her opponents before a match and did not mean to "offend" her fellow pros with her point of view.
"I didn’t want to disparage women’s tennis, no. Listen, I mean, we are doing our best, and great, there are lots of great matches. I don’t like to watch it just because I play against all of them and I just want to kind of like change the picture. I watch lots of women’s tennis before I go to the match, I watch my opponents, I watch lots of women’s tennis."
"It’s not like I don’t like it or like I try to offend what I do, you know. I just find it more fun to watch the men play because I spend a lot of time studying my opponents, so then in my free time I don’t want to see the girls I play against again."
It's been a modest return in terms of victories for Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in January but has lost four of her last nine matches so far. She will play American wild card Robin Montgomery in the third round of the Madrid Open.
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