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Tennis fans rushed to Aryna Sabalenka's defense after the Belarusian faced social media scrutiny over liking Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova's posts. Mironchyk-Ivanova is a Belarusian long jumper who is claimed to be a supporter of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
A recent social media post by a Ukrainian sports page took aim at the reigning Australian Open champion for liking over ten of Mironchyk-Ivanova's posts. The post stated the long jumper's alleged association with Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, and also talked about Sabalenka liking Mironchyk-Ivanova's post about a Belarusian TV channel.
However, fans were not at all approving of the criticism directed towards Sabalenka. One fan urged the WTA World No. 2's critics to leave her alone.
"You people need to get a life and leave Sabalenka alone," the fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another fan believed that Sabalenka liking Mironchyk-Ivanova's post had nothing to do with politics and war. The fan wrote that criticizing Sabalenka for liking a post from Mironchyk-Ivanova is akin to labeling someone 'anti-vax' for liking a tennis-related post from Novak Djokovic.
"She liked a photo of a lady looking good in a dress. Saying that she supports someone who supports the war is wild. That's like saying me liking a Djokovic post on tennis = me supporting anti vax..," the fan commented.
Yet another fan took aim at Sabalenka's critics, writing that none of Mironchyk-Ivanova's posts that the reigning Australian Open champion liked have anything to do with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
"These posts aren’t even talking about the war or politics… I mean should she refuse to interact or center her mind into anything that comes from Russia/Belarus for them to be happy? They’re so desperate to find anything to justify their racist-fueled hatred towards her," the fan wrote.
Here are some more reactions from tennis fans:
Aryna Sabalenka broke her silence on the Russia-Ukraine situation at the 2023 French Open
Until the 2023 French Open, Sabalenka refused to talk about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Her silence was perceived by many as support for Russia's aggression. Some critics also accused her of backing Lukashenko, who is known to be a close ally of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
However, following her quarterfinal victory over Elina Svitolina last year at Roland Garros, the Belarusian voiced her stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. Sabalenka said that she has no desire to see Belarus engaged in any conflict. She also said that is not a supporter of Lukashenko because she does not approve of war.
"I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support the war. I don't support war, meaning I don't support (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko right now," Sabalenka said (via Reuters).
The Belarusian's 2023 French Open run came to an end in the semis as she was stunned by Karolina Muchova.
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