Belarus - players.bio

Rublev leads Russian Wimbledon return with easy win

LONDON : Andrey Rublev became the first Russian through to the second round at Wimbledon as the seventh seed breezed past Australian Max Purcell 6-3 7-5 6-4 on Monday.

Politics Off Wimbledon Agenda For Aryna Sabalenka As Elina Svitolina Sees 'Spark Of Magic'

Belarus tennis star Aryna Sabalenka laid down the law from the outset at Wimbledon on Saturday, insisting she will not get dragged back into the emotional maelstrom of discussing the Ukraine conflict. The world number two and reigning Australian Open champion boycotted two media conferences at the recent French Open after facing a barrage of questions over the war and her links to Alexander Lukashenko, her country's president and key ally of Russia.

Sabalenka keen to shun political talk on return to Wimbledon

Aryna Sabalenka will aim to keep the focus on tennis and not politics on her return to Wimbledon, with the "super emotional" Belarusian saying on Saturday she was relishing the chance to compete in the Grand Slam again.

Regional security 'deteriorating', says Lithuania's president

Having recently called Wagner troops "serial killers", Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda calls for strengthened security on the Belarusian border. "As I understand, the plan of Lukashenko is to build the necessary infrastructure for 6,000 Wagner fighters. And then the most important question is what’s next?" Nausėda adds: "Nobody knows if it's possible to integrate those fighters again into the regular army of the Russian Federation because of the gap in salaries. So they might be used in Africa, they might be used to strengthen the Belarusian army."