Elina Svitolina believes tennis authorities must clarify Ukrainian athletes’ stance on Russians and Belarusians amid the reception Victoria Azarenka received.
Belarusian Azarenka was booed off No.1 Court by some spectators following the conclusion of the epic match, which saw Svitolina win 2-6 6-4 7-6 (11-9).
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There was no handshake between the pair after the conclusion of the fourth-round contest, although there was an acknowledgement between Azarenka and Svitolina from a distance.
Ukrainian Svitolina had previously made it clear she would not shake the hands of any athlete from Russia or Belarus amid the invasion of her homeland.
Azarenka was then booed by some in attendance and it’s been suggested it was due to her not offering her hand to her opponent.
When asked about what happened at the end of the match Azarenka insisted whatever she did wouldn’t be well-received.
“What can I say about the crowd? There is nothing to say,” Azarenka said at a press conference.
“She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian/Belarusian people. I respected her decision.
“What should I have done, stayed and waited? There’s nothing I could’ve done that would’ve been right so I just did what I thought was respectful towards her.
“But this conversation about shaking hands is not a life-changing conversation so if you guys want to keep talking about it, bring it out, make it a big deal, a headline, whatever it is, keep going.
“I thought it was a great tennis match and if people are going to keep focusing only on handshakes or crowds, a quite drunk crowd booing in the end, then that’s a shame.
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“That’s what it was at the end of the day, it’s a tennis match. We are here to play a tennis match, no one’s changing lives here. We’re playing tennis, we’re doing our jobs, that’s it.”
Svitolina was booed by spectators when she refused to shake the hand of Belarusian world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open and has called on the authorities to educate fans about the situation.
When asked about the reception Azarenka received, Svitolina said: “I got the same in Paris where I played three matches…
“For me personally I think the tennis organisations have to come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian/Belarusian and Ukrainian players.
“I don’t know if it’s unclear for some people, maybe they don’t know what’s happening. I think this is the right way.”
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