Tennis Star Refuses to Bash the U.S. When Asked to Do So in Australia

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American tennis star Amanda Anisimova wouldn’t budge when a reporter tried to prod her into criticizing the United States during a press conference.

Anisimova was in Melbourne, Australia taking part in the Australian Open as the women’s fourth seed. In a press conference following her Tuesday win over Katerina Siniakova, a reporter asked Anisimova a question about the state of her home country.

“I’ve been asking a lot of the American players just how it feels to play under the American flag right now,” the reporter said, “and I’m curious how you feel.”

In response, she said:

Yeah, I mean, I was born in America so I’m always proud to represent my country; and yeah, a lot of us are doing really well and it’s great to see a lot of, you know, great athletes on the women’s side, on the men’s side. So yeah, I feel like we’re all doing a great job representing ourselves.

The reporter pressed further, asking if “the context of the last year of everything that’s been happening” complicated Anisimova’s feeling of national pride.

The tennis star shut down the notion with a single sentence before moving on to the next question.

“I don’t think that’s relevant,” she said.

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