Aryna Sabalenka made a clear statement during her press conference at the 2023 Wimbledon.
Ahead of almost every tournament on the WTA Tour, players attend a press conference, talking about their expectations for the event, current form, but also previous struggles and injuries. But that's not always the case as Sabalenka experienced recently.
During the 2023 Roland Garros, one of the main talking points has been the fact that the Belarusian elected not to attend a press conference, and later admitted that she felt disrespected by one of the journalists.
Her statements at the event made her political stance clear, and after her exit from the tournament, she said that she was going to take some time off from the political questions, and ahead of the 2023 Wimbledon, she made things clear. Starting off easily, she said:
"Yeah, I'm super happy to be here. Yeah, just enjoying every second here at Wimbledon. Can't wait to start my first game."
But after the quick intro, Sabalenka announced that she is not going to talk about politics, and asked all the journalists present to respect her decision. Moreover, she added that if they want any additional statement about her political views, the tournament organizers or the WTA will gladly provide that.
"Yeah, before we continue I would like to say I'm not going to talk about politics. I'm here to talk about tennis only. Please respect that. If you have any kind of political questions, you can ask WTA or the tournament. They can send you the transcript of my answers from the previous tournaments. Thank you."
After being away from the All England Tennis Club for a year, Sabalenka really showed her emotions during the press conference, as she was really happy to return to the third Grand Slam of the season once again.
"Yeah, I'm super emotional right now. I'm super happy to be back. I really miss this place. When I got here first time, I was just like enjoying. I couldn't believe that I'm here. So just super happy to be here."
Being one of the favourites is never easy, but the Belarusian is handling it well. Along with Iga Swiatek and the defending champion Elena Rybakina, she's considered to be one of the top favourites, but doesn't have any major expectations.
"I'm feeling good. I don't have any kind of expectations. The only one expectation I have is just to bring my best tennis every time I'm on the court. Yeah, hopefully I'll do it (smiling)."
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