Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka says she does not want her country to be in any conflict and does not support the war in Ukraine, distancing herself from President Alexander Lukashenko.
The world No.2 did not attend her last two press conferences at the French Open, citing mental health reasons, after being grilled about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarus being used as a staging ground for Russian troops.
"I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support the war," said Sabalenka, after her quarter-final victory over Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who refused to shake hands with her opponent.
"I don't support war, meaning I don't support Alexander Lukashenko right now."
Sabalenka says she did not feel safe enough to talk to the media last week.
"I really felt bad not coming here, I couldn't sleep," she said. "Like all those bad feelings was in my head, I couldn't fall asleep.
"I don't regret the decisions. I felt really disrespected and I felt really bad.
"Grand Slam, it's enough pressure to handle and I just tried to focus on myself, on my game. I really hope that you guys will understand me, my feelings.
"You know that I really respect all of you... You can ask whatever you want. You will get all the information, but I felt like my press conference became a political TV show and I'm not expert in politics.
"I'm just a tennis player."
Lukashenko, Russian president Vladimir Putin's staunchest ally among his neighbours, celebrated Sabalenka's Australian Open victory in January and said recently that people knew which country she hailed from, even if she was playing under a neutral flag.
Sabalenka, who has met Lukashenko, had refused to comment, when asked if she personally condemned the war.
"We played a lot of Fed Cups in Belarus," she said. "He was in our matches taking pictures with us after the match.
"Nothing bad was happening that time in Belarus or in Ukraine or in Russia."
Sabalenka was asked if she felt safe during Tuesday's press conference.
"Yes, I do, probably because I had a few days to switch off, a few days to bring myself together," she said. "That's why I feel safer and nobody's putting words in my mouth, so that's another reason."
Reuters
