"This Trip Could Cost Sobolenko Dearly"
- 16.07.2026, 15:23
Why did the world's top-ranked tennis player make such a grand entrance in Belarus?
World No. 1 Arina Sobolenko flew into Minsk on July 14 aboard a private Gulfstream IV business jet to open the tennis courts and hold a master class at her alma mater. “Belsat” asked an expert what such a public visit by a top athlete—who until now had only traveled to Minsk in secret—might actually mean.
A welcome with bread and salt and dancing
After a vacation in Greece, world No. 1 Arina Sobolenko, along with her dog and fiancé—a Brazilian businessman of Greek descent and race car driver Georgios Frangoulis — arrived in Minsk on a charter flight. They were greeted at the airport with folk dances and bread and salt, as seen on the Instagram page of the First & Red project, with which Sobolenko collaborates.
It is known that the tennis player took part in the opening of the Tigerhood x First & Red tennis courts (11 Kozlova Lane in Minsk). As part of the visit, Arina is also scheduled to hold a master class at the “Smena” Children’s and Youth Sports School at 11 Kozlova Lane, along with an autograph session and an opportunity to meet the world’s top-ranked player. Judging by social media, hundreds of people decided to take advantage of this opportunity.
It is reported that the project will have a social focus. Once opened, the two professional clay courts will be used by children and tennis enthusiasts. Now, athletes will have a modern training facility—right where the world’s top-ranked player once began her journey.
As a reminder, Sobolenko previously complained that her training in Minsk was difficult because Belarus lacked a state-sponsored tennis program, unlike other countries.
“Many coaches told me I was stupid, and that the only thing I could do was hit the ball back—that I’d never make it into the top 100,” she recalls.
A businessman subject to sanctions and one of Alexander Lukashenko’s “financiers”—Alexander Shakutin—recognized her potential. According to her, they no longer have a professional relationship, but she remains grateful to him for his support back then.
“He was the one who truly believed in me. There were other people who believed in me, but he was the one who actually helped me,” the tennis player recalled.
You could attend the opening by registering.
First & Red is a sports media project that promotes tennis culture in Russian and collaborates with various tennis players. In addition to Sobolenko, the brand’s official ambassadors include Karen Khachanov, Alexander Bublik, and Diana Schneider. Tigerhood is the name of another project to build personalized tennis courts in collaboration with the aforementioned First & Red and Arina Sobolenko (the image of a tigress is her well-known symbol and the tattoo on her arm).
Sobolenko previously mentioned that the last time she was in Minsk was in December 2025.
“I really wanted to see my grandmothers. I hadn’t seen them in two years,” she explained.
Why did Sobolenko decide to visit Minsk openly right now?
Sports blogger and journalist Yaroslav Pisarenko shared his opinion on this visit with “Belsat.” In his view, this is a betting promotion in collaboration with the companies that Sobolenko endorses.
“To me, this just looks like a betting promotion. That is, Sobolenko is collaborating with First & Red, and as far as I understand, this is their campaign—it’s not the first time they’ve organized something like this around the world. Now they’ve decided to bring Sobolenko to Minsk for the opening of these courts. That’s what I know for sure,” said Yaroslav Pisarenko.
According to the expert, the question now isn’t what kind of courts she’s opening, but why Arina Sobolenko decided to make such a “grand entrance into Minsk” right now, even though she used to fly in secretly and not very often. Even now, there isn’t a single photo or video from Minsk on her personal account.
“The main point here is that Sobolenko’s arrival in Minsk is, in a sense, a statement, since she hasn’t been in Minsk for a very long time. And when she did come to Minsk, we found out about it directly through other people’s Stories or posts. She never posted anything about it herself. Arina Sobolenko, who is very active on social media, didn’t post any stories, reels, or photos from Minsk on Instagram. But now we’ve seen a video of her being welcomed with bread and salt near the airplane stairs. And that already makes her look like a highly sought-after guest who’s been eagerly awaited for a very long time. “So the main question is: why did Arina Sobolenko decide to make such a grand entrance into Minsk right now?” asked Yaroslav Pisarenko.
In his opinion, this trip could cost her dearly. And even more so if she can’t avoid meeting with Alexander Lukashenko.
“She could have quietly focused on her career and advertising contracts, because if you look at the statistics, her earnings from advertising contracts have started to rise significantly. I think that if this meeting [with Alexander Lukashenko] actually takes place, these questions [about her stance on the war in Ukraine] will come up again. I think Sobolenko will face a lot of problems specifically in terms of her image: the brands she works with may reconsider their relationship with her. I think this will cost her dearly. That’s why it always seemed to me that she really didn’t want this hypothetical meeting to happen. But whether she’ll be able to avoid attending it—I have serious doubts.”