At French Open, Sabalenka of Belarus refuses to answer questions about war in Ukraine

PARIS (AP) — Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka declined to answer questions about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after she won a match at the French Open. Sabalenka is seeded No. 2 at the Grand Slam tournament. After her first-round win Sunday, Sabalenka had said no Russian or Belarusian athletes support the war, but she was asked Wednesday to personally condemn Belarus’ role in supporting Russia’s invasion. She declined to answer. Sabalenka’s first-round opponent, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, had urged reporters to ask Sabalenka if she personally supports or opposes the war. Sabalenka also refused to answer questions about whether she supports Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.