“It’s not our fault, shame on the Ukrainians.” Sobolenko comments on Tsurenko’s refusal

The second racket of the world from Belarus Arina Sobolenko The first to comment on the rejection of the Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko Take on him in the 1/16 finals of the tough tournament of the WTA 1000 series at Indian Wells (USA):

– I have to ask this question because Tsurenko said that just before the start of the match, he had a panic attack and backed off. Iga also said there was still a lot of tension in the locker room due to the war. I was wondering if you have any thoughts on this, and maybe WTA could have handled it better with the relationship between Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players over the last year.

“Look, no one can control other people’s emotions, you know. And I think WTA is doing everything possible to control those emotions. Yes, of course there is a lot of tension between us. But I still think I did nothing bad to the Ukrainians, neither me nor the Russians. athletes, neither Belarusian athletes, none of us did anything wrong.Some of us even helped how to say in front of everyone, yes.

What else can I say? I think WTA does a great job of supporting both sides and whatever… I mean, I can’t control anyone’s emotions. I’ve had many bad moments and unfortunately I can’t tell you because who would believe a Belarusian girl? Now I’m talking about your coach. I’ve been through hell too, and I realize… I don’t know. The more I talk, the better it is for me to keep quiet.

I think there was more to Tsurenko’s refusal than a panic attack or a political situation. I think there is one more thing. Last year I had a very difficult situation with his coach, the way he treated me. I think this guy put a lot of pressure on him and that’s why it happened.

WTA has nothing to do with it. They do their job best. What can they do? None of us can control this situation. We all try to stay calm in the locker room and understand that it’s not our fault and we understand Ukrainians and we really feel sorry for them.

This much. I think I said a lot.