How would she feel as the first Grand Slam tournament winner under a neutral flag? Aryna Sabalenka did not want to answer this question before her first major final as a tennis player.
“Let’s talk about it when I win it,” the Belarusian said to a journalist after her semifinal win at the Australian Open: “I want to work for it, do my best. If I win, you can ask me the question and I will.” they answer you.”
One thing is clear: the sports-political discussion about the start of Russian and Belarusian players will also accompany the women’s final on Saturday (9.30 a.m. CET / Eurosport), especially since Sabalenka’s opponent is a native of Moscow: Yelena Rybakina, who has been playing for Kazakhstan since 2018 and gave the nation its first ever Grand Slam tournament victory at Wimbledon last July. Like all other Russians and Belarusians, Sabalenka was banned from the lawn spectacle because of the war of aggression in Ukraine.
“This is really terrible”
“It’s really terrible because nobody supports the war, nobody,” Sabalenka told the Australian newspaper The Age at the end of December. The ban from Wimbledon “didn’t change anything” about the political situation, “and that’s the sad thing about it”. If she has to start under a neutral flag, like in Melbourne, she feels like she comes from “nowhere”.
During the successful tournament days in Melbourne, Sabalenka seems to completely ignore the debate. The fifth in the world rankings, who used to struggle with their nerves, plays extremely consistently and focused. In ten games of the New Year she has not lost and has not given a set.
She no longer takes professional help in the mental area. “I’m my own psychologist,” said Sabalenka with a smile: “I understood that nobody but myself can help me.”
