Aryna Sabalenka Becomes First Player to Win Grand Slam Under a Neutral Flag

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets to win the Australian open – becoming the first player to do so under aa neutral flag.

Belarusian-born Sabalenka wasn’t allowed to compete under her own country’s flag under rules imposed by tournament organizer Tennis Australia, who, because of the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, required Russian and Belarusian players to compete as neutrals.

“I’m still shaking and super nervous,” said Sabalenka to the fans in attendance in her on-court speech before receiving her trophy.

“We’ve been through a lot of downs last year,” she added, “We worked so hard, you guys deserve this trophy, it’s more about you than about me. Thank you so much for everything you do for me. I love you.”

This was Sabalenka’s first grand slam final, having previously lost three major semifinals.

Speaking with Eurosport, the newly crowned tennis champion said,

“I need a few more days to realize what happened…

I’m just super happy and proud. There’s so many things in my head. I’m not on this planet right now. It’s kind of relief, I’ve been in the top 10 but I didn’t have a grand slam trophy yet and it’s been really tough to get it, every slam was super emotional.”

Sabalenka added that she would celebrate by, “Probably eating everything that I couldn’t this week.”