"Critiquing Aryna Sabalenka is sexist"; "We don't forgive you" - Fans divided over Belarusian explaining her preference for men's tennis over women's

Aryna Sabalenka recently found herself in hot water after saying she prefers to watch men's tennis over women's. She again commented on the topic after her opening match win at the 2024 Madrid Open.

Before kicking off her campaign in Madrid, Aryna Sabalenka spoke about her preferences when it comes to watching tennis matches. The Belarusian stated that she does not watch a lot of tennis matches, but whenever she does, it is more likely to be men's than women's. She reasoned her choice by calling ATP tennis more logical and interesting.

"I'm not someone who watches too much tennis, I prefer to watch men's tennis rather than women's tennis, I feel like there is more logic and it's more interesting to watch (laughs)," Sabalenka said.

After registering her first win at the 2024 Madrid Open against Magda Linette in the second round on April 26, the World No. 2 was asked if her comments about preferring to watch ATP tennis over WTA harm women's tennis. Sabalenka insisted that she didn't mean to damage women's tennis in any way. She just prefers watching men's matches because she doesn't want to watch players she plays against on TV screens.

Sabalenka opined that watching her fellow WTA rivals after playing against them is too much for her to bear, so she watches her male counterparts as a change of scenery.

"I didn't want to damage women's tennis, no. Listen, I mean, we are doing our best and, great, there are lots of great matches. I don't like to watch it just because I play against all of them, and I just want to kind of like change the picture, and because I watch lots of women's tennis before I go to the match, I watch my opponents, I watch lots of women’s tennis," Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference.

"It's not like I don't like it or like I try to offend what I do, you know. I was just trying to say that because I'm playing there and it's too much for me, I'm just trying to watch men's tennis. For me, it's more fun than watching probably my future opponents in the tournament,” she added.

Tennis fans were divided by Aryna Sabalenka's latest comments on the discourse. Many agreed with her point of view and said that she does not need to watch women's tennis after playing it. Others even called it "sexist" to criticize her over her choices.

"Makes sense to me. Watching WTA probably feels like work to her. It's different from us fans sitting on a couch," a fan said.

"This is totally fair. It is also fair for her to not watch women's tennis. Critiquing her is continuing to be sexist. Women should not be responsible for this promotion. Yes many women that came before her fought, but this is not her or any women's responsibility," stated another fan.

"Aryna has the RIGHT to prefer whatever she wants. No damage at nothing... what "a pain in the neck people "- urghhhh," a fan commented.

"Of course she didn't mean anything negative by what she said.. she just doesn't consider the context of what she says very well at times. She's an athlete, not a P.R. rep. Give her a break!" said another fan.

Some fans did not forgive Aryna Sabalenka and urged her to be more measured and careful when discussing such topics. A few fans asked her to stop harping at this point.

"Well then…you should’ve just said that the first time AND omitted the “men play more strategically” comment but anyway," a fan wrote on X.

"We don’t forgive you," wrote a fan.

"Dude just shut the hell up, christ is not that hard," tweeted another fan.

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Aryna Sabalenka faces Robin Montgomery in the 3R at the Madrid Open

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka will continue her title defense at the 2024 Madrid Open against Robin Montgomery in the third round on April 28. Sabalenka will come into the contest after a hard-fought three-set win against Magda Linette in the second round. Meanwhile, American wildcard Montgomery has upset the odds so far by bettering Elina Avanesyan and Katie Boulter in her Madrid Open debut.

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Iga Swiatek in a thrilling title contest to win the Madrid Open last year. This was her second title in the Spanish capital after she emerged victorious in 2021.

If she defends her title at the WTA 1000 tournament this year, Sabalenka will become the first woman to do so since Simona Halep in 2017. In addition, she would become just the second woman to win three Madrid Open titles after Petra Kvitova (2011, 2015, and 2018).