What is Aryna Sabalenka's stand on Russia-Ukraine war? All you need to know about the Australian Open champion's opinion on the situation

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka has often stated that she is against the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The crisis that started in February 2022 has had its implications on the tennis circuit. Russian and Belarusian players were prevented from competing in the Wimbledon 2022 Championships.

Ukrainian tennis players have taken a stance not to shake hands with their Russian or Belarusian colleagues, something that has become a very common feature in matches involving players from the respective nations.

Aryna Sabalenka is the highest-ranked player among those from Russia and Belarus, and has often had to answer questions pertaining to the war. The World No. 2 has maintained her stance against the war whenever she has spoken about it.

During the 2023 Australian Open, Sabalenka said that the war affected her a lot and that she would do something about it if she could.

"Well, I would say that of course it affect me a lot. There was tough and it's still tough. But I just understand that it's not my fault. Like, I have zero control. If I could do something, of course I would do it, but I cannot do anything. Just have this understanding really helping me to stay strong," Sabalenka said.

A few months later at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, the Belarusian said that the Ukrainians could hate her if that made them feel better. She also said that she would stop the war if she could.

"If they feel better by hating me, I'm happy to help them with that. They can do that," she said. "But the rest, like, if I could stop the war, I would do that, but unfortunately it's not in my hands and it's not under my control."

Aryna Sabalenka: "Nobody in this world support the war"

Aryna Sabalenka with the 2024 Australian Open trophy

During the 2023 French Open, Aryna Sabalenka faced Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the opening round and won the match. Kostyuk, who has often spoken about the war, did not shake hands with the Belarusian after the fixture ended.

The Belarusian was once again asked about the war during the post-match press conference and she said that neither Russian nor Belarusian athletes supported the war.

"About the war situation, I said it many, many times: Nobody in this world, Russian athletes or Belarusian athletes, support the war. Nobody. How can we support the war? Nobody, normal people will never support it," Aryna Sabalenka said.

"Why we have to go loud and say that things -- this is like one plus one, it's two. Of course we don't support war. If it could affect anyhow the war, if it could like stop it, we would do it. But unfortunately, it's not in our hands. That's the part about Ukrainians," she added.

The two-time Australian Open champion also said that she did not see disrespect in Ukrainians not shaking hands with their counterparts from Russia and Belarus, adding that she understood why they did what they did.

"I don't think so. I understand why they are not shaking hands with us. I can imagine if they gonna shake hands with us, and then what's gonna happen to them from Ukrainian side. So I understand that. And I understand that this is not kind of like personally, you know. That's it," Sabalenka said.

The Belarusian also defended Kostyuk who was booed off the court, saying that the Ukrainian did not deserve to leave the court in that manner.

"I think probably she don't -- not probably. I think she don't deserve to be, yeah, to leave the court that way," Sabalenka said.

Later during the tournament, Sabalenka was permitted to have a press conference with a selected pool of journalists.