Aryna Sabalenka has revealed she would not consider changing her sporting nationality as she feels it would be a betrayal to Belarusian children who look to her as an inspiration.
The 27-year-old star is currently the most prominent athlete from Belarus, and she is the most successful tennis player in her nation’s history by most key metrics.
Sabalenka has won four Grand Slam titles (two Australian Opens and two US Opens) and spent 68 weeks on top of the WTA Rankings, surpassing her compatriot Victoria Azarenka, who has secured two majors and amassed 51 weeks at No 1.
She has been the WTA world No 1 for 60 consecutive weeks since overtaking Iga Swiatek in October 2024.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, tennis players from Russia and Belarus (Russian allies) have had to compete as individual athletes rather than under their nation’s flags. Nine Russian players have changed their citizenship since the start of the war.
Sabalenka was affected by the ban on Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
During an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Sabalenka spoke about what it means to her to represent Belarus.
“Listen, I’ve always been really proud to represent such small country and I take it as, you know, I’m an inspiration for the young kids there,” said the world No 1.
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“And, for example, changing my nationality, it’s not the case for me. Because I don’t want to betray all the kids.
“So I would like to represent Belarus just for the kids from that country to see me, competing on a high level and get inspired by me and hopefully by my example, I’ll show them that if I was able to make it from that country, from that little country in the world, make it all the way to the top, I want them to think that they also can do that.”
During the 2025 Australian Open, Sabalenka was asked about the ban on competing under her nation’s flag.
“I was always proud to represent Belarus in terms of it’s a small country and I made it from very small country,” Sabalenka said.
“It’s not like I was practising in the States or in Spain. I felt like I was kind of an inspiration for the next generation. I was kind of motivating people from there, like tennis athletes.
“f they’re going to bring it (the Belarus flag) back, I’m going to be happy. If not, it’s OK.”
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