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Tennis fans expressed their happiness after Aryna Sabalenka confirmed the approval of her visa for the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Following her disappointing defeat in the 2023 French Open semifinals against Karolina Muchova, losing 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5 on Thursday, Sabalenka shared some positive news regarding her upcoming grasscourt season at the post-match press conference.
Despite being unable to compete in the 2022 Wimbledon Championships due to her Belarusian nationality, Sabalenka revealed that her UK visa has been approved, allowing her to participate in the grasscourt Slam this year.
In February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) made the decision to prohibit players from Russia and Belarus from competing in the Wimbledon Championships. As a result, players such as Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Karen Khachanov were unable to participate in the esteemed tournament.
In April of this year, the AELTC and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) issued an official statement permitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the upcoming Wimbledon Championships.
Sabalenka, who had previously expressed her concern about her ability to participate due to a delay in her visa approval, recently confirmed the approval of her visa for the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Tennis fans took to social media to express their elation upon learning of the announcement made by the World No. 2.
A fan stated that it was a blatant insult to the media outlets who had attempted to impede her from participating in the grasscourt Grand Slam.
"A big L for select media who've been trying to tear her down and prevent this," a fan tweeted.
Another fan expressed that they found solace in the news of Aryna Sabalenka's visa approval after witnessing her semifinal loss at the French Open.
"At least there’s SOME good news from today…" the fan tweeted.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
"I'm very disappointed with this tough loss" - Aryna Sabalenka
During the post-match press conference, Aryna Sabalenka opened up about her match against Karolina Muchova.
While she expressed disappointment with her own performance, she also acknowledged the "unbelievable" tennis Muchova played.
"Yeah, tough match. Yeah, she played unbelievable tennis. Still, I had a lot of opportunities, and I didn't use it. Yeah, of course I'm very disappointed with this tough loss, but that's okay," Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka expressed that she felt emotionally fulfilled for fighting for every opportunity and that she didn't have much to say about the match itself.
"Not like super extra pressure. I felt good. I fight for every opportunity. Then, yeah, I mean, emotionally I felt really good. I don't know. It's just tough to say anything about this match (smiling)," Aryna Sabalenka said.
