World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka pleaded with Wimbledon for the storied tournament to allow players’ dogs on-site after a blanket ban was issued ahead of the Championships.
Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton stressed that only ‘service dogs and security and search dogs’ would be allowed in SW19, just weeks after the French Open bent over backwards to ensure star pets were catered for in Paris.
But Sabalenka, who recently welcomed a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Ash into her entourage, was adamant that there is a place for dogs at the tournament, and underscored the importance of her puppy to her mental wellbeing.
When asked about Wimbledon’s policy by Daily Mail Sport after her straight-sets defeat of McCartney Kessler, Sabalenka said firmly with a smile: ‘I don’t agree with that!’
Relenting, she added: ‘Well, I can understand why they made this decision. Obviously if the dog does something wrong inside of this historical place, probably going to take a bit of time to replace. They’re probably afraid of damages inside.
‘I have to say all of our dogs are very well-trained. They’re not going to do anything wrong inside of this beautiful building. We have to change that,’ she continued.
Aryna Sabalenka called for Wimbledon to let dogs come in with their players in a bid to boost their morale at the Championships
The world No 1 has seen her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Ash travel to tournaments including the Madrid Open (pictured) and Roland-Garros
‘It just sometimes hurts to leave him at the house by himself. He really gets attached a lot. But he suffers staying alone. It really hurts my feelings. It’s just like little fluffy thing that always wants a cuddle and love. Going to the park with him, walking around, is also like some sort of meditation for me.
‘Wimbledon, please, I beg you, let the dogs inside.’
But after her nail-biting three-set win against Solana Sierra, world No 7 Coco Gauff urged players with dogs to consider what spaces might be right for them, rather than giving them free rein at the Grand Slams.
‘I love dogs. I definitely think there’s a place and time for them,’ the former French Open champion said. ‘I do love them. I mean, this is also different because this is held at a club, which I don’t think they allow dogs anyways in general. So I respect the rules.
‘But I definitely think there’s certain places like dogs shouldn’t be for safety reasons, like the gym and the locker room, where sometimes I see dogs.
‘I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind them around the site, but I just definitely think, ’cause there’s been times where I almost stepped on somebody’s dog, almost threw a medicine ball at someone’s dog.
‘You don’t want to hurt an animal. I definitely think in the gym where there’s already 50 million players doing a million different things. I mean, last year, I don’t want to call out the player, but someone threw a medicine ball at me. If I was a little dog, that would freaking hurt.
‘In the gym, no. In the locker room, no. Maybe in the food areas no, because of cleanliness.
‘Everything else, go ahead, be free, run around with your dog. I definitely am someone who when they’re in the gym, I feel a bit nervy because there are a lot of them. There’s been close calls.’
The All England Club has been contacted for comment.
Since adopting Ash in the spring, the puppy has accompanied Sabalenka on tour and even featured in his first trophy celebration on-court when the US Open champion won this year at Indian Wells.
On her run to win that trophy in California, Sabalenka underscored the positive uptick in managing her stress levels the puppy had provided.
‘I feel like I’m much more settled, calm, more in control,’ Sabalenka said during an interview with Tennis Channel. ‘Whenever I feel like going crazy on my team, I just pet Ash and I feel better.’
This season, the four-time Grand Slam winner also brought Ash to tournaments including the Miami Open and the Madrid Open.
Sabalenka is just the latest star to travel with a dog on tour, with French Open winner Alexander Zverev, Anna Kalinskaya, Marta Kostyuk, and Eastbourne winner Zizou Bergs among those with well-publicised pets.
Such is the increase in player pets at tournaments that Roland-Garros this year hired a ‘dog concierge’ to ensure the welfare of the animals as temperatures rose in Paris.
The tournament also hired two dog walkers to exercise the pets while on-site in the 16th arrondissement.
Anna Kalinskaya, ranked 20th in the world, is another star who travels with her dog, a long-haired dachshund named Bella
Sabalenka made the comments on Wednesday after narrowly avoiding taking her clash with Kessler to three sets.
The Belarusian star was made to sweat as the world No 57 roared back in the second set after a muted showing in the 6-1 opener, forcing a tiebreak as an increasingly frustrated Sabalenka tried and failed to squash her budding competitiveness with blunt-force power hitting.
Kessler, who won last year’s Nottingham Open on grass, chased down two match points and had set point twice, but Sabalenka’s supreme Grand Slam tiebreak record – which now stands at 21 consecutive wins – saw her see out the deciding set 7-6(9).
Sabalenka credited herself with surviving the ‘huge battle’ by awarding her performance ‘nine out of 10’ for focus and fight, but bristled at the suggestion that she had been fearful of a third-set after late collapses against Diana Shnaider at the French Open, and Jessica Pegula in Berlin two weeks ago.
‘I didn’t really think about that. What is wrong with my three-set statistics?’ Sabalenka fired back at a journalist who questioned her recent form.
‘Berlin in the second round, I won in three sets. I wasn’t really concerned at all. I’m not trying to stay in the past or in the future. I’m trying to stay present.
‘Anyway, I’m happy I was able to close it in two sets.’
