“I Cannot Accept Aryna Sabalenka” — Former Belarusian Minister Launches Explosive Attack on the World No. 1 Over Her Silence on the Political “Horror” in Her Homeland, Igniting a Fierce New Storm Around the Tennis Superstar
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has come under fire from Pavel Latushka, a politician in her native Belarus, for her silence on the turmoil in her own backyard. The top-ranked player on the women’s tour was recently featured in TIME magazine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022, and is supported by Belarus, continues even today. Tennis hasn’t been spared from its aftermath either, with Ukrainian players refusing to acknowledge players from the two offending countries.
Sabalenka was asked about her stance on the same during her interview with TIME. While she was clearly against the war, she refused to call out the head of her country, President Alexander Lukashenko, directly for his complicity in the war.
“No one does. It’s so obvious,” said Sabalenka about the war.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Sabalenka when asked about Lukashenko.
This didn’t sit well with Latushka. He was once a cabinet minister and an ambassador under Lukashenko. However, since 2020, he has been a part of the shadow cabinet run by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Belarus was rocked by the biggest protest in the country’s history during 2020-21.
People took to the streets in large numbers to protest against Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule. The crackdown against the protestors was brutal, with many of them still languishing in prisons. Latushka tried getting in touch with Sabalenka on many occasions but was unsuccessful in his endeavors. He finally took to X (formerly Twitter) and criticized her for keeping quiet about the situation in Belarus.
“I, along with many Belarusians, cannot accept her—you only need to look at the massive ratio of dislikes on articles about her on @zerkalo_io.”
“I think it’s crucial to explain why: she refuses to acknowledge the horror happening in our country and fails to condemn the aggression against our neighbor. As a world-class athlete, she has the standing to address Lukashenko directly and say: “Release all the female political prisoners currently behind bars,” read an excerpt of Latushka’s post on X.
Sabalenka‘s stance on the war, as well as the oppression of her own people, has been the same for ages. While she has been against it, she has never directly addressed the perpetrators of the same by name. Aside from mounting pressure related to non-tennis issues, her on-court results are getting concerning with every loss.
