25-year-old Sabalenka was clear before the reporters started asking her questions on Saturday:
— I would like to say that I will not talk politics. I’m here to talk about tennis only. Please respect that. If you have any policy questions you can ask the WTA or the tournament and they can send a copy of my answers from previous tournaments.
Sabalenka won the year’s first grand slam tournament, the Australian Open, in January and then reached the semifinals of the year’s second grand slam, the French Championships, in June.
During the tournament in Paris, the Belarusian boycotted two press conferences on the grounds that she felt uncomfortable in meetings with journalists who asked about Belarus’ role in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
When Sabalenka was asked if she was pressured to say that she does not want questions about Ukraine, she replied:
— It is my personal decision.
Sabalenka reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2021, last year she was not allowed to play as all players from Russia and Belarus were ported.
Wimbledon is played July 3–16.