"Surprised it’s taken players so long to exert their control" - Tennis fans react to Aryna Sabalenka's stand against political questions at Wimbledon

Aryna Sabalenka's stance against politicial questions at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships has sparked strong reactions from tennis fans.

Sabalenka is set to begin her campaign at the grass court Major against Panna Udvardy on Tuesday, July 4. Ahead of her tournament opener, the Belarusian announced that she would not entertain any political questions during her press conference.

"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," Aryna Sabalenka said.

The World No. 2's decision comes on the heels of finding herself inundated with questions about the Russia-Ukraine war during the 2023 French Open. While at the clay court Major, she had disclosed her stance against the war and the current President of Belarus.

"I mean, I don't support war, meaning I don't support Lukashenko right now," she said at the time.

Several tennis fans welcomed the news of Aryna Sabalenka's decision to refuse all political questioning at Wimbledon 2023.

"Surprised it's taken some of these players so long to exert their control over the pressroom," a fan commented.

Bryce

@BryceWayne10s

@TheTennisLetter Surprised it’s taken some of these players so long to exert their control over the pressroom.

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@TheTennisLetter Surprised it’s taken some of these players so long to exert their control over the pressroom.

"Good for her, should've done it earlier," another fan chimed in.

goran m

@grbm1995

@TheTennisLetter Good for her, should've done it earlier.

12

@TheTennisLetter Good for her, should've done it earlier.

Fans also shared their belief that players should not be expected to comment on politics.

"But she is right on this point. They should not ask players about politics. They aren't even experts for politics," a fan posted.

Raffi

@rnw_ch

@TheTennisLetter But she is right on this point. They should not ask players about politics. They aren't even experts for politics.

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@TheTennisLetter But she is right on this point. They should not ask players about politics. They aren't even experts for politics.

"Bravo, Aryna hope none of these clown journalists try to make her into something she’s not. Just a tennis player, like everyone else in tournament," another fan tweeted.

dylon

@dylonthoms

@MichalSamulski Bravo, Aryna hope none of these clown journalists try to make her into something she’s not. Just a tennis player, like everyone else in tournament.

83

@MichalSamulski Bravo, Aryna 👏👏 hope none of these clown journalists try to make her into something she’s not. Just a tennis player, like everyone else in tournament.

One user criticized the Belarusian for denying all political questions after she previously opening up about the impact of the war in the Netflix docuseries 'Break Point.'

"Here we go again. I'm not gonna talk about politics but using politics to present myself as a victim in the Netflix series is ok," the user posted.

Roksanche

@Roksanche

Here we go again.
I'm not gonna talk about politics but using politics to present myself as a victim in the Netflix series is ok
🤡🤡🤡 twitter.com/MichalSamulski…

Michal Samulski

@MichalSamulski

Aryna Sabalenka at the beginning of her Wimbledon presser. The farce continues.

110

4

Aryna Sabalenka at the beginning of her Wimbledon presser. The farce continues. https://t.co/sIf3iTH3Iy

Here we go again.
I'm not gonna talk about politics but using politics to present myself as a victim in the Netflix series is ok
🤡🤡🤡 twitter.com/MichalSamulski…

Here are a few more more fan reactions:

Lucy Bush

@LucyBush

@MichalSamulski What do people want out of her? I need to ask because she has spoken about her position, made her statements. Does she really need to explain herself everytime she is at a press conference? For me, it’s absurd but I am interested in knowing other people perception and why

26

@MichalSamulski What do people want out of her? I need to ask because she has spoken about her position, made her statements. Does she really need to explain herself everytime she is at a press conference? For me, it’s absurd but I am interested in knowing other people perception and why

Nat Elk

@ElkNat877

@TheTennisLetter Pre-emptive strike! Well done Aryna! Hope you win it all.

18

@TheTennisLetter Pre-emptive strike! Well done Aryna! Hope you win it all. 💪🍓🏆

Dan Wolken

@DanWolken

Jesus. The usefulness of continuing to badger Sabalenka about the war has long reached its end. She’s made her stance clear. Doing this at every Slam is silly. twitter.com/michalsamulski…

Michal Samulski

@MichalSamulski

Aryna Sabalenka at the beginning of her Wimbledon presser. The farce continues.

10

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Aryna Sabalenka at the beginning of her Wimbledon presser. The farce continues. https://t.co/sIf3iTH3Iy

Jesus. The usefulness of continuing to badger Sabalenka about the war has long reached its end. She’s made her stance clear. Doing this at every Slam is silly. twitter.com/michalsamulski…

Shobhit

@NovakGOATovic

@MichalSamulski Excellent answer from Sabalenka

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@MichalSamulski Excellent answer from Sabalenka

michael epps

@michael_epps

@MichalSamulski I agree her completely. She’s not responsible for wars, or the farcical questions from the “press”.

9

@MichalSamulski I agree her completely. She’s not responsible for wars, or the farcical questions from the “press”.

Mr White

@amoneything_uk

@MichalSamulski You only have to watch her breaking down on Break Point to understand why it should just be about the sport

4

@MichalSamulski You only have to watch her breaking down on Break Point to understand why it should just be about the sport

vi✌🏻

@blancoxmendes

she’s so unserious, after RG and kinda pointing that she the victim on netflix - ridiculous twitter.com/thetennislette…

The Tennis Letter

@TheTennisLetter

Aryna Sabalenka says she won’t talk about politics at Wimbledon PC:

“Before we continue I’d like to say I won’t talk about politics. I'm here to talk about tennis. If you have any political questions you can ask WTA. They can send you my transcripts from previous tournaments”

1505

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Aryna Sabalenka says she won’t talk about politics at Wimbledon PC:

“Before we continue I’d like to say I won’t talk about politics. I'm here to talk about tennis. If you have any political questions you can ask WTA. They can send you my transcripts from previous tournaments” https://t.co/4Vycan2rlq

she’s so unserious, after RG and kinda pointing that she the victim on netflix - ridiculous twitter.com/thetennislette…

A brief look at Aryna Sabalenka's record at Wimbledon

Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon 2023

Aryna Sabalenka made her Wimbledon debut in 2017. After making her way through the qualifiers, the 25-year-old defeated Irina Khromacheva in her main draw debut. However, she was unable to progress further in the tournament as she was defeated by Carina Witthoft in the next round.

Sabalenka suffered back-to-back first-round exits in the 2018 and 2019 editions of the grass court Major, losing to Mihaela Buzarnescu and Magdalena Rybarikova respectively.

Seeded second at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, the Belarusian displayed her newfound prowess on grass, defeating Monica Niculescu, Katie Boulter, Camila Osoris and Elena Rybakina to advance to the quarterfinals, where she defeated Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka was unable to reach her maiden final at SW19 after losing to Karolina Pliskova who came through with a hard fought 5-7. 6-4, 6-4 win over the 25-year-old to take on eventual champion Ashleigh Barty in the final.

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