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Aryna Sabalenka (WTA 5) is currently preparing for the Australian Open, which will start in mid-January. The 24-year-old Belarusian looked even more ahead of what 2023 has to offer in tennis land and she hopes that she will be able to participate in Wimbledon again this year.
Jens HeylenBron: Reuters
Last year, the organizers of Wimbledon banned players from Russia and Belarus from participating in the Grand Slam tournament. That because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sabalenka, who is preparing for the Australian Open this week in Adelaide, said politics and sport should not influence each other. “It is really terrible, because no one supports war, no one,” the 24-year-old Belarusian told Melbourne newspaper Age. “The problem is that we have to speak loudly about this… but why do we have to raise our voices for it everywhere? It doesn’t help at all.”
“I’m just really disappointed that sport is somehow intertwined with politics. We are just athletes doing their sport. That is it. We do not meddle in political matters. If we could all do something, we would, but we have no control whatsoever,” Sabalenka continued her argument. “Russian and Belarusian players were banned from Wimbledon and what changed? Nothing. They still haven’t revised their decision and that’s the sad thing about this situation.”
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“I really hope I can come down to London this year and play. Just because of the fans and to feel the great atmosphere there,” Sabalenka concluded.