Aryna Sabalenka may wish it to be otherwise but there was no getting away from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Elina Svitolina and Venus Wiliams – who will play each other in round one – made it clear that even if Russian and Belarusian players are allowed to play in this year’s Championships, the topic is far from closed.
As the highest-ranked Belarusian (or Russian) player, Sabalenka, the world No 2, has been asked more questions than most about her feelings toward the war and her country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko.
For months, she has refused to condemn it and though in Paris last month, she said: “I don’t support war, which means I don’t support Lukashenko [the Belarus leader] right now”, her attitude and her words have been heavily criticised by Svitolina and other Ukrainian players.
Sabalenka began with a mini-statement on Saturday, saying: “Before we continue, I would like to say I’m not going to talk about politics. I’m here to talk about tennis only. Please respect that.
“If you have any kind of political questions, you can ask WTA or the tournament. They can send you the transcript of my answers from the previous tournaments. Thank you.”
Her lack of words were in stark contrast to others. Williams, who is back at Wimbledon at the grand old age of 43, said: “War is a nightmare. All we can do is pray for it to end quickly.”
Svitolina, Ukraine’s highest-profile player, back at Wimbledon after missing last year’s event because she was pregnant, detailed the effect the war has had on her relationships with other Russian players, many of whom were once her friends.
“For sure, now we’re more distant from each other,” she said. “This is really obvious.”
Svitolina says she will continue to use her platform to try to bring attention to the plight of the Ukrainian people. Like Sergiy Stakhovsky, the retired Ukrainian player now fighting for his country in Ukraine, the 28-year-old is frustrated and angry that Russian and Belarusian players, with the exception of Daria Kasatkina, continue to choose not to condemn the war.
“It’s really upsetting because it’s only a few of us that have this opportunity and really sad that no others are ready to take this responsibility.”
Svitolina is sure to receive a warm reception when she steps out to play Williams on Centre Court on Monday. Many of her friends, she said, have been taken in by British families and many other Ukrainians she knows will also be there to watch and support.
What’s also clear, though, is that the war will also have a major effect on Ukrainian tennis in the future. “Our sport has being thrown back at least 10 years and lots of venues, lots of clubs, tennis and different sports have been completely destroyed by missiles,” she said. “I cannot imagine when it’s going to be back to normal.”
Meanwhile, world No 1, Iga Swiatek, announced herself fully fit and ready to go for this year’s event, revealing that the suspected food poisoning which forced her to withdraw from the warm-up event before her semi-final in Bad Homburg had cleared up later the same day. Swiatek has yet to make it past the last 16 at Wimbledon but having won the French Open for the third time last month, she comes in with plenty of confidence and is the woman to beat.
