Aryna Sabalenka opts out of media duties for sake of her ‘mental health’

Aryna Sabalenka opted out of a post-match press conference after her third-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday following a number of tense exchanges with a Ukrainian reporter about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after previous rounds here.

Players are required to attend post-match press conferences if they are requested by written media, but no time was announced for Sabalenka after she had beaten Rakhimova 6-2, 6-2. Instead, a transcript of her conversation with an unnamed member of staff was released without explanation. It is unclear whether Sabalenka was interviewed by a group of people or only one person.

Sabalenka began by explaining that she did not feel safe after her second-round press conference and that she had decided not to attend on Friday for the sake of her mental health.

“For many months now I have answered these questions at tournaments and been very clear in my feelings and my thoughts,” said Sabalenka, who is from Minsk, the capital of Belarus, an ally of Russia. “These questions do not bother me after my matches. I know that I have to provide answers to the media on things not related to my tennis or my matches, but on Wednesday I did not feel safe in press conference. I should be able to feel safe when I do interviews with the journalists after my matches.”

She continued: “For my own mental health and well-being, I have decided to take myself out of this situation today, and the tournament has supported me in this decision. It hasn’t been an easy few days, and now my focus is continue to play well here in Paris.”

After Sabalenka’s first-round win against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, a Ukrainian reporter suggested that Sabalenka had been avoiding questions about Russia’s invasion and answering in