Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka says she did not do an open news conference after her French Open third-round match for her own "mental health and wellbeing".
Sabalenka, 25, was challenged by a Ukrainian reporter about Russia's invasion, supported by Belarus, after her opening two matches in Paris.
She says she did not "feel safe" during Wednesday's news conference.
On Friday, she said: "I should be able to feel safe when I do interviews with the journalists after my matches."
Sabalenka, seeded second, won 6-2 6-2 against Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday.
Afterwards, instead of doing the usual news conference which is open to all journalists at Roland Garros, she spoke to a small group of reporters who were hand-picked by tournament organisers.