Elina Svitolina, Saturday, responded to incendiary comments made by Aryna Sabalenka and the subsequent clarification. The Belarusian was caught shouting either “Those f–ing Ukrainians, for f–s sake!” or “That f–ing Ukrainian, for f–’s sake!” during a frustrating loss to the Ukrainian on Friday.
After the clip circulated online, Sabalenka posted a note on Instagram, explaining:
“I want to clarify something from my recent match that has been circulating online. My comment was not directed at Elina. I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment. Elina played a great match, and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
Speaking with the press after her semifinal victory over Linda Noskova, the Ukrainian, who has been outspoken against the Russian led war supported by Belarus, addressed the issues. This quote has been edited slightly for clarity:
“There’s many, many Ukrainians, many, many flags, and many Ukrainian supporters are here, and of course they want me to win in this particular match. I think we’ve played many times with Aryna and she has her fans, I have my fans. So every country, every match that we’ve played has been kind of different. I’ve seen the clips [of her outburst] because obviously it’s in the social media. I hope that the matches between us are respected, because in some matches that we’ve played, there have also been not great comments towards me in regards to the war. So yeah, it is like this, and I mean, in the social media, sometimes you know the things are turned around a little bit.”
