"I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support the war," Sabalenka told a press conference after her quarter-final victory against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the French Open.
"I don't support war, meaning I don't support (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko right now."
But Svitolina accused Sabalenka of adding fuel to the fire by standing at the net waiting for a handshake she knew would never happen at the end of their quarter-final on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian also queried why Sabalenka had not been find for skipping media duties, as is the norm.
Sabalenka did not attend her two previous press conferences last week, citing mental health reasons and saying she did not feel safe after being grilled about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", and Belarus being used as a staging ground for Russian troops.
"I really felt bad not coming here. I couldn't sleep. Like all those bad feelings was in my head, I couldn't fall asleep. I felt really bad not coming here," Sabalenka explained.
"I don't regret the decisions. I felt really disrespected, and I felt really bad. I mean, grand slam, it's enough pressure to handle, and I just tried to focus on myself, on my game," she said.
"I really hope that you guys will understand me, my feelings. You know that I really respect all of you... You can ask whatever you want. You will get all the information.
"But in the last press conference, I felt like my press conference became a political TV show, and I'm not expert in politics. I'm just a tennis player."
Svitolina had warned she would not shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus and said of her opponent's behaviour: "I don't know what she was waiting for, because my statements were clear enough about the handshake."
Svitolina was booed by the crowd as she walked straight to her bench after losing the match 6-4 6-4.
"I was expecting that and it was not a surprise for me," she said of the jeers, which she also received when not shaking hands with Russia's Daria Kasatkina in the previous round.
Asked if Sabalenka was looking to inflame the situation by standing at the net instead of also walking back to her bench, Svitolina said: "Yeah, I think so."
"My initial reaction, was like, what are you doing? Because, in all my press conferences I made my position clear.
"I made multiple statements that I'm not shaking hands, and she played obviously Marta (Kostyuk of Ukraine) as well in the first round. So it's quite simple."
On Sabalenka missing press conferences Svitolina said: "It should be equal for everyone. Like, for example, why (Japan's) Naomi (Osaka) got fined last time and this time there is no fine for the player, who also skips the press conference..
In 2021, former world No.1 Osaka was fined $US15,000 ($A22,500) for skipping a post-match press conference at the French Open and threatened with tough sanctions by the board of the four grand slam tournaments.
The Japanese player subsequently withdrew from the tournament citing mental health concerns and later said she had been battling depression and anxiety for years.
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