Lesia Tsurenko gives real perspective amid fans celebrating Sabalenka loss: "This is real happiness"

Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko has revealed that she is happy to see her friend return from captivity despite suffering a third-round exit from the Australian Open.

The 34-year-old lost to the current world number two Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the round of 32 of the first Grand Slam of the year with a score of 6-0, 6-0.

Tsurenko posted a post on her official account on the social media platform X where she highlighted how she does not care about some fans celebrating her exit from the competition because she is just happy to see the return of her friend from Russia’s captivity after 18 months.

"I noticed that my loss yesterday made a lot of people happy. so my new post is for you. please feel free to express whatever you want to me. I hope this will make you happy for a little bit longer", she wrote.

"But you know, on the eve of the new year, my friend returned from russian captivity after 1.5 years. lost 55 kilograms of body weight and with an infection in his legs, but the main thing is that he is alive. this is real happiness."

So I hope that you will also have real reasons to feel happy in your, and not because of the loss of some random tennis player whom you have never even met in your life.”