Aryna Sabalenka Nationality: World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka is among the athletes competing at the Australian Open 2024 who are not flying their national flag.
The 25-year-old Sabalenka was raised in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and has experience competing internationally while flying the Belarusian flag.
Sabalenka is not allowed to compete at the Australian Open under the Belarusian flag, along with competitors from Russia and Belarus.
Why tennis players will compete at the Australian Open 2024 with or without the white flag
The Australian Open has stated for the third year that Russian and Belarusian tennis players may compete, but they cannot wear their national flags or names.
Tennis Australia released a statement prior to the Australian Open 2023 stating, “Players from Russia and Belarus are only able to compete in international tennis events as individuals – and without flags or country recognition.”
“The grand slams, the ATP and WTA Tours, the ITF, and tennis Australia are all in agreement when it comes to denouncing Russia’s actions and its senseless invasion of Ukraine.”
In addition to Sabalenka, a number of other well-known competitors, including Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, are competing without flying their national flag.
Ranking of Aryna Sabalenka
At the Australian Open in 2024, Sabalenka is ranked second in the world right now and has the second seed.
After a stellar year in which she advanced to the US Open final and won the Australian Open, she was ranked as high as No. 1 in the world in September 2023.
Sabalenka also advanced to the French Open and Wimbledon semifinals in 2023; the 2022 French Open was the last major tournament in which she failed to reach the semifinals.
How her father introduced Aryna Sabalenka to tennis
Since she began playing tennis at the age of twelve, Sabalenka has developed as a player….To everyone’s surprise, and not even on purpose, it was her father who first got her interested in the sport!However, as she recalled in one of her interviews, the 25-year-old Belarusian has since changed from being a “crazy” champion to one who is calmer.
Sergey Sabalenka’s father was an ice hockey player who was born in Minsk.
The fierce Australian Open champion first became interested in tennis when she saw some courts while traveling from Minsk, thanks to her late father. She began playing the sport as soon as she learned about it. After that, she could not be stopped.
“My dad was just driving me somewhere in the car one day, and on the way he saw tennis courts,” Sabalenka revealed. He then brought me to court. It was as I had liked it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. That was its origin.
Sabalenka’s father was as passionate about the game as she was, and he wanted her to succeed in racket sports. And as she once said, it was thanks to him that she kept giving it her all in court.
Sabalenka’s father inspired her to win.
One time, Aryna Sabalenka was questioned about her feelings toward topping the WTA rankings. She replied that her father was the one who frequently expressed his pride in her.
Whether it was in tennis or anything else, he always shared his victories, small and large, with her. “He told me then that I have everything I need to achieve this goal: I just have to learn how to control my emotions and better understand myself, and one day I’d be number one in the world,” Sabalenka continued. It resembled our dream.