Aryna Sabalenka's country, why she doesn't have a national flag next to her name, & other questions answered

Aryna Sabalenka recorded her career-best result at the French Open on Tuesday, June 3, beating eighth-seeded Zheng Qinwen in straight sets to reach the semifinals. The World No. 1 will be eager to make it to the women's singles title match on Thursday, June 5, when she takes on archrival Iga Swiatek in a blockbuster last-four clash.

As such, a big date with destiny looms for Sabalenka. Many new fans would've probably noticed that the flag of the nation that the 27-year-old represents isn't next to her name on live scoreboards during her matches. This has been the case since early 2022, around the same time that the 5'11" star began her ascent to the highest echelon of the WTA Tour.

Below, we unpack some of the questions surrounding Aryna Sabalenka's flag, its absence from being next to her name, and more:

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Which country is Aryna Sabalenka from?

Aryna Sabalenka hits a forehand at the 2019 BJK Cup | Image Source: Getty

Born to Sergey Sabalenkov, Aryna Sabalenka is from Belarus. She hails from Minsk, which is the capital of Belarus. The big-hitter first shot to fame in 2017, when she helped her country reach its first-ever, and to date only, Billie Jean King Cup final against all odds.

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Why does Aryna Sabalenka not have a national flag beside her name?

Since turning pro in 2015, Sabalenka played under her national colors for seven years until 2022, when the International Tennis Federation (ITF) - tennis' biggest governing body - suspended the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) and the Belarusian Tennis Association (BTA) from all four Major tournaments and team competitions like the Davis Cup and the BJK Cup following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"The International Tennis Federation (ITF) condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its facilitation by Belarus," ITF wrote in its statment in March 2022. "In addition to the cancellation of all ITF events in those countries, the ITF Board has today announced the immediate suspension of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) and Belarus Tennis Federation (BTF) from ITF membership and from participation in ITF international team competition until further notice."

Belarus has long been a close ally of Putin-led Russia, which is why both countries' flags were barred from appearing on live tennis infographics and scoreboards.

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Why was Aryna Sabalenka banned from Wimbledon?

Wimbledon banned Russians and Belarusians in 2022 | Image Source: Getty

Four months after Russia and Belarus were banned from pro tennis, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) made the dubious decision not to allow Russian and Belarusian pros to compete at 2022 Wimbledon. This ultimately led to the ATP, WTA, and ITF withdrawing ranking points from the grasscourt Major. Due to the effect of both countries' pros being barred from playing at SW19, Aryna Sabalenka had to sit out of the tournament.

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What did Aryna Sabalenka have to say about her ban?

Sabalenka was admittedly disappointed with Wimbledon's decision at the time if her comments to the media were anything to go by. The Belarusian disapproved of world politics influencing tennis while also reiterating her stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.

"I'm just really disappointed that sports are somehow in politics. We're just athletes playing our sport. That's it. We're not about politics. If all of us could do something [about the war], we would do it, but we have zero control," Sabalenka told The Age in 2022 (via TNT Sports).

"This is really terrible because no one supports war, no one. The problem is that we have to speak loud about that ... but why should we scream about that in every corner? It’s not going to help at all. We have zero control over this situation," she added.

Fortunately for her, the AELTC reversed its decision to bar Russians and Belarusians from competing after heavy fines from ATP and WTA the following year.