Reuters
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Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka said she struggled to understand the “hate” she encountered in the locker room amid strained relations between some players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The world number two has previously said she has nothing against Ukrainian people and felt bad for them as Moscow’s action rages on. Belarus has been a staging area for the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.”

“It was really tough for me because I’ve never faced that much hate in the locker room,” Sabalenka said ahead of the Miami Open. “There are a lot of haters on Instagram when you’re losing matches, but in the locker room I’ve never faced that.

“It was really tough to understand that there’s so many people who hate me for no reason. I did nothing.”

Australian Open champion Sabalenka lost in the final of Indian Wells to Elena Rybakina on Sunday.

Earlier in the tournament, Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko withdrew from her match against Sabalenka over a panic attack triggered by a conversation with WTA chief Steve Simon about tennis’s response to Russia’s invasion.

Sabalenka said she had been having “weird conversations” with members of some players’ teams in the last year.

“It was really tough, but now it’s getting better,” she said.

World number one Iga Swiatek has called for more support to be offered to Ukrainian players, saying the tennis leadership was not doing enough, but two-time grand slam champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus said that was not the case.

“There are certain players that have different feelings and behaviors. Overall, I don’t necessarily share the same opinion as Iga does,” Azarenka said.

“I’d encourage her to look at the things that have been done before she makes comments. As a player council member, I’m happy to provide the facts. That would be a more appropriate way to have that conversation.”

CNN
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Although all-time tennis great Novak Djokovic says that his rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer made him the player he is today, initially the Serbian was “pissed off” to be part of the golden era.

“They made me stronger, both mentally, physically, my game was improved because of all these matches that we played against each other, mostly because of the matches that I lost to them, some big matches,” the 22-time grand slam champion told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

In his first interview since withdrawing from the Miami Open over visa issues, Djokovic said he has “no regrets” after ceding the world No. 1 ranking to Carlos Alcaraz and having to also miss Indian Wells in the United States this month.

Djokovic is not allowed to travel to the US because of his decision not to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

On Monday, Djokovic ceded the top men’s singles ranking – which the 35-year-old has held more weeks than any other player – to the 19-year-old Spaniard after he was forced to miss Indian Wells. Djokovic is also missing the Miami Open this week.

“No, I have no regrets,” Djokovic said in an interview with Anderson. “I’ve learned through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past. And I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment, but of course think about future, create a better future.

“So I congratulate Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to come back to No. 1.

“It’s a pity that I wasn’t able to play in Indian Wells [and] Miami. I love those tournaments. I had plenty of success there. But at the same time, it is the conscious decision I made and I knew that there is always a possibility that I won’t go. And it is the current state or current situation that I hope will change for later this year for the US Open. That is the most important tournament for me on the American soil.”

Djokovic reiterated that at this stage in his career, the grand slams are what matter the most to him, and he will wait and see if he can go to New York.

“I really want to be playing there, want to be there,” Djokovic said. “I actually had in 2021 when I lost in the finals against (Daniil) Medvedev, probably one of the best moments I ever had with the New York crowd. And I’ve been fortunate to win that tournament three times, play many finals. And even though I lost that match, I received a lot of love and appreciation from people and I want to go back and I want to reconnect with the crowd there. So that’s something I’m looking forward to and hopefully it will happen.”

For now, Djokovic’s focus has shifted to the upcoming clay court season in Europe. Of his 22 grand slam singles titles – tying him with Rafael Nadal for the most in men’s tennis – Djokovic has won the French Open, the next major on the tennis calendar, twice.

Djokovic was a keynote speaker at the Dubai Future District Fund’s First Annual General Meeting, where he talked about his business interests and foundation. He is part of a generation of athletes taking their career earnings and endorsements and turning them into business empires.

“I think some experiences are transferrable, not all of them, but I think character is, and I guess when you are successful in your core business… you want to continue in striving to be successful in other areas and it’s a kind of logical or a natural transition to a next phase of your life,” he explained to CNN.

His portfolio of vested interests is varied and includes biotech, education, sustainability and clean energy, he said.

“I’ve been trying to be sensitive and conscious about the fact that I have to start preparing my future as early as possible and surrounding myself with smart people who have the experience of being in that journey, in that area, in that sector that I’m interested in for quite some time because I’m new.”

While Djokovic joint-leads the rankings of men’s grand slam singles titles, he trails both Serena Williams and Margaret Court on the all-time list. That’s something he will look to change this year and was full of admiration for Williams’ achievement.

“She keeps, keeps inspiring myself, all the tennis players around the world. And she’s been really an icon of our sport for so many years,” he said.

CNN
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Tennis great Martina Navratilova says her “prognosis is excellent” having been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.

In an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV, Navratilova said: “I mean, as far as they know I’m cancer-free … I definitely won’t be missing any of my check-ups. I will be very, very diligent about it, but the prognosis is excellent. But you never know.”

The 66-year-old Navratilova, who won 59 grand slam singles and doubles titles over the course of her illustrious career, discovered an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas last year.

After a biopsy, she was later diagnosed with stage one throat cancer, her agent Mary Greenham told CNN in January. While undergoing throat tests, a suspicious form was found in Navratilova’s breast, which later was diagnosed as cancer, Greenham said.

“It was again very up and down, right?” Navratilova said in the TalkTV interview airing Tuesday.

“So, I find out it’s throat cancer, I think I could be dying but I find out no, it’s very treatable. Then they found the right breast and when I had the biopsy on the right breast, the doctor was saying: ‘This doesn’t look great.’

“And when she said that I’m like: ‘Oh great, I have another cancer?’ And that’s when I started crying on the table as she’s still poking in there getting samples out of my boob and I’m like: ‘Oh great, I have two cancers at the same time that are not related.’”

Navratilova, who was previously diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, spoke of her determination after receiving her double diagnosis.

“What was the alternative? Giving up? Giving in? Stopping?” she said. “That’s just not an option for me … quitting is just not in my DNA.”

Since retiring from tennis, Navratilova has worked as a coach, broadcaster and ambassador for the WTA Tour. She still holds the WTA record of 167 singles titles, 10 more than her long-time friend and rival Chris Evert, who said in January she is “cancer-free” having been diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer.

After Greenham put out a request for friends to send a message and song to Navratilova, Evert sent Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me.”

“I couldn’t even read that stuff,” said Navratilova. “When Mary first sent it to me, I just started crying … I started reading it and I’m like: I cannot listen to the music because I’ll definitely be bawling my eyes out.

“One day at a time, I read a little bit from what everybody wrote because it was so moving.”