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Aryna Sabalenka says she is hoping her game and personality are the reasons why she receives so much crowd support. Sabalenka, seeded at No 2, had a first-round bye in Indian Wells. On Friday, Sabalenka kicked off her Indian Wells run with a 6-2 6-0 win over Evgeniya Rodina.
“I don't know. I think they like to see my powerful game. I don't know. Probably that's why (smiling). Probably they just like me because I'm a nice person. I don't know. I hope it both," Sabalenka explained, per Musab Abid.
Aryna Sabalenka on why she gets so much crowd support:
“I don't know.I think they like to see my powerful game. I don't know. Probably that's why (smiling). Probably they just like me because I'm a nice person. I don't know. I hope it both”. — Musab (@Musab_Abid) March 11, 2023
Sabalenka not blaming herself anymore for the Wimbledon situation
Last year, Wimbledon made a controversial decision to ban all Russian and Belarusian players from competing at The Championships.
Even though Wimbledon hasn't yet made any official announcements, the latest reports suggest that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to return to The Championships in 2023. But if that does not happen, Sabalenka won't blame herself or feel guilty.
"Well, to be honest, I am trying to stay away from this. Last year, it was super painful for me and I was really worried about that but this year, I mean, I cannot control it. They will do whatever they want to and I really that we are going to playing there.
I like the tournament, it's a beautiful place, I like the crowd. I really miss the people there because it's really enjoyable playing in front of fans there. So yeah, I really hope they're going to let us play. If not, then what can I do.
Before, I was really worried about that and I didn't really know what to do and I really thought that this situation was my fault, you know. Like, the reaction of people to some different things made me feel really bad but then I realized that this is not under my control and I did nothing bad against Ukrainian people.
So yeah, this is not my fault, zero control in this situation. Unfortunately, we're somehow invited in all this," Sabalenka said.