Aryna Sabalenka embroiled in Wimbledon sexism row over 'lady can play with men' article
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has found herself embroiled in a sexism controversy during her bid to claim Wimbledon glory. Sabalenka has been exceptional, sailing through SW19 without dropping a single set on her march to the quarter-finals and stands as the overwhelming favourite to lift this year's title with all her major challengers already eliminated. The 26 year old is the hot tip to claim the championship, having made it to both the Australian Open and French Open finals earlier this year. She's making amends at the All England Club after being compelled to withdraw just hours before her opening match last year due to injury, and saw off Emma Raducanu in this year's third round. At the start of this month, the Wall Street Journal ran an article headlined: 'The World No.1 who hits so hard she practices against men'. In the article, it declares Sabalenka "needed practice partners who could live with her blistering groundstrokes". It also asserts she duly opts to his with the best players on the men's circuit. It's no secret she frequently practices with the likes of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner - as do a number of players on the female circuit. And she told the WSJ: "Hitting with the guys, it's another level of intensity. When you see, on that side, someone like Jannik or Novak, you learn from them. "You reflect what they do on court. You play with them...and you see the difference. It's really helped my tennis." However, one excerpt reads: an excerpt from the article reads: "The 27-year-old Sabalenka now crushes the ball so forcefully that she needs new practice partners. "And, as it turns out, the right players for the job happen to be people she could never face in singles competition. That's because they're men". That hasn't gone down well in some quarters, notably coming under fire from former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, who won the title as a 17-year-old in 2004. The five-time Grand Slam winner declared on Instagram: "What is this headline and what is this article. You can do better". One comments on the WSJ's instagram post to the article said: "This headline is sooo sexist 'this lady is sooo amazing she can even play with men' wtf!!!! Am I in the twilight zone where people write such articles with no shame" A second added: "DO BETTER! What is that headline? Terrible reporting on so many levels" Another made clear: "Most of the women players have male hitting partners, this isn't uncommon"
