"I've often experienced haters on social media after a defeat, but I've never had to deal with so much hate in the tennis locker room.
Yet I didn't do anything."
It is the outburst of Aryna Sabalenka, 25, a Belarusian from Minsk and number 2 in world tennis.
Players from Russia and Belarus were banned from Wimbledon after the invasion of Ukraine, and in other tournaments they play as neutral athletes.
"I happened to have strange conversations" with colleagues, Sabalenka said on the eve of the Miami Open.
"It was really hard to understand that there are so many people who hate me for no reason," added Sabalenka, winner of the 2023 Australian Open and defeated in the Indian Wells final by Kazakh Rybakina on Sunday.
"I've had conversations that I wouldn't define as real quarrels, but really tough ones: I'm not saying with the other players, but yes with their staff... It was tough, even if things are a little better now".
During the last Indian Wells tournament, the Ukrainian Tsurenko withdrew from a match with Sabalenka due to a panic attack.