Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s second-ranked player from Belarus, skipped her mandatory news conference after her win against Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia at the French Open due to feeling unsafe during a previous news conference. A journalist from Ukraine asked Sabalenka about her support of President Alexandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, which has supported Russia’s war against Ukraine. For Sabalenka’s mental health and well-being, she decided to take herself out of this situation. The French tennis federation approved Sabalenka’s decision for that day’s match but did not confirm if the decision would apply to her news conferences throughout the tournament. Sabalenka’s representatives at IMG did not comment on the situation. This comes after Naomi Osaka’s confrontation with the tournament two years ago over attending news conferences led her to drop out of the French Open. Osaka announced on social media before the start of the tournament that she would not participate in news conferences to protect her mental health and would pay any fines. The tennis leaders threatened that she could face harsher penalties if she did not fulfill her media obligations.
