Controversy continues for Sabalenka as image surfaces of World No.2 hugging President Lukashenko

Aryna Sabalenka was recently confronted by a Ukranian journalist about her perceived support for Belarusian president Lukaschenko who is an ally of Moscow.

Sabalenka has been under a lot of fire recently from all sides due to the war in Ukraine even though she came out against it with some very strong comments. The Belarusian was confronted about her apparent support for Lukashenko but she didn't really want to respond to a question thanking the reporter while avoiding responding.

The next time she faced the media, Sabalenka requested a close press conference presumably to avoid facing the same reporter again and the event obliged her. She held a press conference with only several members of the media.

Read also

2023 French Open Roland Garros ATP and WTA Prize Money and Points Breakdown with €49.6m on offer

The whole thing ended up big major news, so much so that publications started to dig deeper into the past. A Norwegian newspaper, actually the biggest one in the country ran their issue with a story about that and a picture of Sabalenka hugging Lukashenko with a smile. The regime in Minsk has been widely reported to be a dictatorship with multiple human rights abuse allegations.

It's also closely related to Moscow openly supporting the special military operations in Ukraine. Expect a few more closed press conferences in the future for Sabalenka.

Read also

"That moment showed me there's humanity in this": Svitolina nearly broke no handshake rule with Blinkova as Stubbs feels for both players