Former Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky has criticised Aryna Sabalenka's recent comments about stopping the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ahead of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this week, world number two Sabalenka explained that she would want to war to end if possible. In addition, the Belarusian player said comments made by the nation's president, Alexander Lukashenko, were not helpful after the political figure praised the WTA player.
However, Sabalenka's attempts to support Ukraine and oppose the ongoing conflict have not convinced everyone. Former Ukrainian player Stakhovsky took to his official Twitter page to openly criticise Sabalenka's recent statement about stopping the war.
"Aryna Sabalenka - 'If there would be anything I could do to stop the war, I would do it but the reality is a cannot do anything'. The fact is that she even didn’t try to stop this war and she definitely has the platform to try. So everything she says is empty words."
Stakhovsky's recent criticism follows continuous locker room and on-court tension between WTA players from affected nations of the conflict. Sabalenka has also recently revealed that she is aware of hatred towards her from some other players, which led her to make the initial comment about stopping the war.
"If they [Ukrainians] feel better by hating me, I'm happy to help them with that. They can do that. But the rest, like, if I could stop the war, I would do that, but unfortunately, it's not in my hands and it's not under my control."
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