Aryna Sabalenka refuses press for second time after claiming she’s ‘not secure’
Aryna Sabalenka did not attend French Open media duties for a second time on Sunday night time forward of her quarter-final conflict towards Elina Svitolina. The Belarusian world No 2 has cited psychological well being as the explanation after being quizzed about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at Roland Garros.
Sabalenka marched previous 2017 runner-up Sloane Stephens with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win within the fourth spherical.
With her eleventh consecutive Grand Slam victory, the Australian Open champion booked a quarter-final spot in Paris for the primary time.
But she did not face the media in a post-match press convention for the second time in as many rounds on Sunday night time.
A press announcement confirmed {that a} WTA editorial reporter would once more interview Sabalenka, with the transcript to be transcribed and distributed.
The French Open launched a transcript of her quotes with out rationalization when she snubbed duties following Friday’s third-round win towards Kamilla Rakhimova.
And the 25-year-old defined that she did not really feel secure throughout an trade with a Ukrainian reporter in her second-round press convention.
She stated: “For many months now, I have answered these questions at tournaments and been very clear in my feelings and my thoughts. These questions do not bother me after my matches.
“I do know that I’ve to offer solutions to the media on issues not associated to my tennis or my matches, however on Wednesday, I didn’t really feel secure in my press convention.
“I should be able to feel safe when I do interviews with the journalists after my matches.”
She added that the match supported her determination to decide towards talking to the media to give attention to her “mental health and well-being”.
But in her newest WTA-organised quotes, she answered only one query about her quarter-final assembly with Svitolina.
It might be thought of essentially the most high-profile sporting encounter between a Belarusian and Ukrainian since Vladimir Putin launched Russia‘s invasion final February.
Sabalenka was born in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, an ally of Russia, and needed to insist she did not assist the warfare after her first-round win towards Ukraine‘s Marta Kostyuk, who refused to shake her hand.
With her media stance, she has made it clear her total focus is on drowning out the noise and securing back-to-back main titles.