The Ukrainian player makes her position clear after her first-round exit in Melbourne. Aryna Sabalenka responds.
Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Olijnykova has called for Russian and Belarusian professionals to be banned from competing after her first-round exit at the Australian Open. “I think it’s very wrong that they are not disqualified like in other sports,” the 25-year-old said in an interview with the Melbourne Age newspaper. The background to this is the ongoing war in her homeland, where her father is fighting on the front lines. Olijnykova made her Grand Slam debut in Melbourne on Tuesday but was eliminated by defending champion Madison Keys. At the press conference, she wore a T-shirt with the words: “I need your help to protect Ukrainian women and children, but I can’t talk about it here.” Political messages are officially prohibited at Grand Slam tournaments. “It creates the impression that we’re all just playing tennis, but people don’t see what’s going on behind the scenes,” the Ukrainian criticized. Olijnykova, who lives and trains in Ukraine, avoids contact with players from Russia and Belarus. World number one Aryna Sabalenka, who has been competing under a neutral flag for years, commented on Olijnykova’s request: “I want peace, and if I could change anything, I would definitely do so. I have nothing more to say on the matter,“ Sabalenka said. ”I’m here to play tennis. It’s a tennis tournament, and I just don’t want to talk about politics here.”