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Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s tennis No. 1 player, is making her promotional rounds for the Battle of the Sexes: Dubai Showdown in less than three weeks, and several of her answers have raised eyebrows.
In an interview Tuesday on Piers Morgan Uncensored alongside Nick Kyrgios, Sabalenka was asked about comments made by Marta Kostyuk, the No. 26-ranked women’s tennis player.
“A Ukrainian tennis player claims you have a biological advantage. You’re bigger, taller, and stronger, and she suggested this was down to your higher testosterone levels. What do you say to that” Morgan said.
“All I hear here is just excuses,” Sabalenka responded. “It’s actually quite funny because she’s a strong girl. She probably has more muscles than I do and she looks fit and strong. I think that’s not the case against all the matches she lost against tall players.”
Morgan’s question came from Kostyuk’s interview with Tennis365 in October in which she did mention the testosterone levels of her opponents, but the outlet later admitted that it had edited the interview and said that her comments were “taken out of context.”
In the original story, Tennis365 asked Kostyuk, who has lost all four head-to-head matches against Sabalenka, whether she was “intimidated” by Sabalenka and world No. 2 Iga Świątek. The original story rendered her response as:
“We all have our own biological structure. Some have a higher level of testosterone, some have lower. It’s just natural and that definitely helps.”
Four days after the original story was published, the outlet released another article saying Kostyuk’s comments–-made to the outlet—were “spun to insinuate Kostyuk was criticising her opponents, which was never her intention.” The outlet also published the entire transcript of their exchange with Kostyuk, which included a much longer quote about her rivals’ physiques. The site admitted that it “initially opted not to include Marta’s comment about players ‘not taking anything’ as we didn’t want this story to have any contentious undertones.”
The full, previously unpublished quote from Kostyuk included her saying:
“We all have different biological structures.
“Some have a higher level of testosterone, some have lower. I know players who are good players who have higher levels of it. It’s just natural, they don’t take anything. I’m sure of that. It’s just the biology of their body. Obviously, that definitely helps.”
Tennis365 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Later in the interview with Morgan, Sabalenka was also asked whether she will continue to represent Belarus. (Athletes from Belarus have had to compete as “neutral” in tennis and other sports due to the country helping Russia in its war on Ukraine.) Several Russian tennis players have switched to representing other countries, including Daria Kasatkina, who now represents Australia, and Anastasia Potapova, who announced earlier this month that she will represent Austria next year.
Sabalenka said she has no plans to compete under another flag.
“I’ve always been really proud to represent such small country. I take it as I’m an inspiration for the young kids there. Changing my nationality, it’s not the case for me because I don’t want to betray all the kids. So I would like to represent Belarus just for the kids from that country to see me competing on a high level and get inspired by me,” Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka wrapped up the 2025 WTA Tour season as the world No. 1 after winning the US Open and making the championship match at the Australian Open, French Open, and WTA Finals. She’ll play Kyrgios under altered rules intended to create a balanced playing field on Dec. 28 in Dubai.
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