Do we like them?

Do we like Aryna Sabalenka?

Our score: 6 out of 10. A decent record with a short fuse and two contested moments, and the good deeds I could confirm are thin.

Sabalenka is the Belarusian powerhouse who has made four Australian Open finals and won the title in 2023 and 2024. She's a big hitter with a big personality, and she plays up to it on court and on podcasts. That's the person fans either adore or find a bit much.

The awkward part is her country. Pressed over the war in Ukraine, she said in 2023 “I don't support war, meaning I don't support Lukashenko right now.” At the 2026 Australian Open she repeated that she wants peace. Critics reckon that's thin; her line has long been that she doesn't want sport dragged into politics.

In February 2026 she sat down on a podcast hosted by Russian rapper L'One. Fans slammed it, because he has publicly backed Russia's invasion and has admitted giving financial support to Russian forces. It's one appearance, not a run of them, so it's a mark rather than a pattern, but it didn't help.

On trans athletes, she told Piers Morgan in December 2025 “it's not fair on women to face basically biological men”, while also saying she has nothing against trans people themselves. She was also swatting away Marta Kostyuk's testosterone remarks at the time. Where you land depends on whether you read it as a sport-fairness view or as exclusion; Martina Navratilova agrees with her, Billie Jean King and trans advocacy groups don't. It's a contested position on sport rules, not a campaign.

Then there's the temper. In March she called Dubai's tournament director's push to dock ranking points for late pull-outs “ridiculous” and said she wasn't sure she'd go back, though Coco Gauff backed her. In September came the US Open final meltdown and the fine. She's owned it, saying “Sometimes I'm a bad example”. Fair enough, but it's a pattern of public tantrums.

The good stuff is real but thin on the record I could verify. At the 2024 Australian Open, Jelena Dokic asked her to sign towels after a match and she did so on the spot. They were to be auctioned for a domestic violence charity. I didn't find a Sabalenka foundation or a confirmed big donation, and that's honestly the whole confirmed list.