Aryna Sabalenka’s commotion on her return to Wimbledon
Aryna Sabalenka’s commotion on her return to Wimbledon
Last year she was unable to participate in the Wimbledon tournament because of the ban on Russian and Belarusian tennis players, who were “guilty” of being compatriots of Putin, who was responsible for the invasion of Ukraine, or of belonging to a Putin-supporting country. Today Aryna Sabalenka returned to the London grass and could not hide her emotion. Here are her words at the press conference, quotes reported by ubitennis.com.
“I am very happy to be here. I am enjoying every second. I can’t wait to get on the court for my first match. But before I continue, I would like to emphasize that I am not going to talk about politics. I am here to talk about tennis. Please respect that. If you have questions about politics, you can ask the WTA or the tournament and they will send you in writing the answers I have given at previous tournaments.”
“I am very excited. I am very happy to be back. I missed being here. When I first came here, I loved it so much. I can almost hardly believe I’m here again. I feel good about it. But I have no expectations of any kind. The only one I have is to show my best tennis every time I take the court, and I hope to do that.”
The semifinal loss to Karolina Muchova in Paris was very tough. I was very disappointed. Then we talked about it with the team. For me it was a good lesson. I took a few days off and then started preparation for the grass season. No matter what happens, I have to keep trying, without losing my mind. I have to try to do my thing without going crazy. That was the lesson.”
“What did I do during the last Wimbledon? I was home for a few days off, then I trained, but I didn’t watch the tournament much, because I felt so bad… Every time I saw Wimbledon on TV, I would start crying, so I decided to disregard it. The reception? I don’t expect anything, I simply hope they will support me. Last year I played a couple of tournaments on grass, it’s not like I haven’t played for two years. I feel good about it. But here the grass is something different. It’s just perfect and playing on these lawns is wonderful.”
“My practice with Elena Rybakina on the Central was very good. The court is perfect, everything is perfect. It was a very good training. High level. A training of the kind you need before the tournament starts. I firmly believe I can do well on grass. I’ve done it before and I do well on grass. I’ve read a lot about the big three and it’s nice to be considered one of them, along with Swiatek and Rybakina. I hope I can continue to do well. I think we are favored, no matter which of the three. However, I am sure that if I play my best tennis, and if I stay focused until the end, I can do very well at Wimbledon.”
