Aryna Sabalenka is a very good friend of Paula Badosa who shared that she's been affected by the political discourse around her.
Aryna Sabalenka had a really rough Roland Garros of the courts as she had to deal with reports bombarding her with political questions. It got so tiresome for her that she opted not to have a press conference at one point admitting later that she didn't really regret her decision.
It was tough for her, so much so that the World No. 2 on the WTA Tour declared before Wimbledon that she won't be answering any political questions which were likely coming from the famously ruthless British media. Badosa was asked about Sabalenka who is a good friend of hers and she shared some warm words about a person she calls one of her best friends.
I mean, Aryna is an amazing person. She's one of my best friends. I think you can all see her when she's on press, she's on court. She has amazing energy, always smiling. Yeah, I don't know. I love her a lot, so I think the political thing doesn't define her as a person.
The Belarusian wasn't affected by the political discourse on the courts as much but obviously, it affects her. She even admitted recently that she cried after being verbally attacked by the coach of a Ukranian opponent earlier this year. Badosa confirmed that obviously situations like those affect Sabalenka but didn't go too in-depth declaring that it's not her business.
Of course it has impact. You saw it in Paris she didn't do press conference. Of course she's having a hard time, and that shouldn't happen. But I'm not gonna comment more about this, because it's not my business.
The start in London was very good for Sabalenka who cruised easily in the opening match with the hopes of going deep at the event. Her best result came in 2021 when she made it to the semi-final.