Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus when they met in the first round of the DC Open in Washington, just as she had at Wimbledon. And again, the Ukrainian didn’t shake hands with her Belarusian opponent at the end of the match.
There was one difference, though. Spectators were warned Svitolina wouldn’t shake hands with Azarenka. The message was flashed on the scoreboard after the first set of Svitolina’s 7-6, 6-4 win in Washington.
This was done to prevent what happened at Wimbledon, where Azarenka was booed after being beaten by Svitolina.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina hasn’t shaken hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents during the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Instead of shaking hands, Svitolina and Azarenka went straight to the umpire at the end of the match amid cheers from the audience and waving Ukrainian flags.
The two players showed sportsmanship by thanking the chair umpire.
Svitolinaolina was happy a message was flashed on the scoreboard that she wouldn’t shake hands with her Belarusian opponent.
“It’s the right thing,” said world number 27 Svitolina.
“I asked for the WTA to respect the decision of Ukrainians. And they did,” she was quoted as saying in an article in the Hindustan Times.
Two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka, playing on her 34th birthday, said the message arrived “18 months too late”. The current Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
“We just move on. We play a tennis match. As I said in Wimbledon, I accept, respect somebody’s position. That’s it,” Azarenka added.
At the Monterrey Open, Elina Svitolina was harshly criticized for refusing to shake hands with Elina Avanesyan. The 29-year-old Ukrainian Svitolina defeated the Russian Avanesyan in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 16.
No handshakes for Belarus and Russian players
After winning, Svitolina declined to follow the custom of shaking hands with her opponent and instead shook hands with the umpire before going back to her seat. Since the Ukraine-Russia war began in February 2022, Svitolina—who is married to fellow tennis great Gael Monfils—has declined to shake hands with players from Belarus and Russia.
The reason for the uproar over the refusal to shake hands is that Avanesyan is now representing Armenia instead of her birthplace. Netizens reacted negatively to Svitolina’s “disrespectful” behaviour. In a social media post, one netizen stated: “absolutely disgusting from svitolina refusing to shake hands with avanesyan, who changed her citizenship into armenian” .
absolutely disgusting from svitolina refusing to shake hands with avanesyan, who changed her citizenship into armenian pic.twitter.com/prFs2mkr4x
The post received comments from other people who wrote: “It’s just petulant because it achieves nothing except negative headlines”, “She should get banned for bad sportsmanship”, and “can someone do it to her she act so entitled.”
Svitolina also made headlines last year when she declined to shake hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated the Ukrainian in the French Open quarterfinal.
British tennis chiefs said Wednesday they were “disappointed” at being fined $1 million by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for banning Russian and Belarusian players from their events.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) came under pressure from the British government to impose a ban.
Russian and Belarusian players were eventually barred from all five ATP tournaments staged by the LTA, including the longstanding Queen’s Club event in London.
The All England Club, which organises Wimbledon, also banned them from competing at this year’s edition of tennis’ oldest Slam.
Both the ATP and the Women’s Tennis Association stripped Wimbledon of its ranking points in protest at a ban labelled “crazy” by 21-time Grand Slam title winner Novak Djokovic.
The WTA had also previously fined British tennis authorities a total of $1 million, split between a $750,000 punishment for the LTA and a $250,000 penalty for the All England Club.
It is also understood the LTA has been threatened with expulsion from the ATP Tour if it repeats the ban.
The LTA, responding Wednesday to the latest sanction, accused the ATP of a “lack of empathy” over the situation in Ukraine, saying in a statement: “The LTA is deeply disappointed with this outcome.
“The ATP, in its finding, has shown no recognition of the exceptional circumstances created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or the international sporting community and UK Government’s response to that invasion.
“The ATP appear to regard this matter as a straightforward breach of their rules — with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine, and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances the LTA faced.”
The statement added: “We will carefully consider our response and we await the outcome of our appeal against the WTA’s decision and sanction.”
‘Without discrimination’
The ATP insisted later Wednesday they had no intention of changing course.
“We stand by our original position on this matter, that unilateral decision-making by members of the ATP Tour threatens our ability to operate as a global sport,” a spokesman told AFP.
“We believe that the measures taken protect the long-term future of our game and its commitment to merit-based participation, without discrimination, for individual athletes.”
Earlier, the ATP received support from International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who criticised the British government for politicising the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“Governments should not decide on political grounds who is participating in which sports events,” said Bach following an IOC executive board meeting in Lausanne.
“The qualification for sports events must be on sporting merits and not on political interference.”
Bach also accused the British government, and others, of going against the Olympic Charter — guarantor of the IOC’s political neutrality.
“To take a decision, a political decision, on a sports competition is clearly not in line with these resolutions and with these commitments and is not in line with the mission of international sports,” he said.
Michelle Donelan, the British government’s Culture Secretary, urged the ATP and WTA to reconsider their punishments.
“We are clear that sport cannot be used to legitimise this deadly invasion, and that athletes representing the Russian or Belarusian states should be banned from competing in other countries,” she said.
“Despite widespread condemnation, the international tennis tours are determined to be outcasts in this, with investment in the growth of our domestic game hampered as a result.”
In the Brisbane International finals, Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka defeated Russian qualifier Polina Kudermetova 4-6 6-3 6-2 to prepare for her title defence at the year’s first Grand Slam.
Sabalenka will compete at Melbourne Park, hoping to become the first woman to win three consecutive Australian Open titles since Swiss champion Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
With her win, the athlete said: “I’m super happy to lift this trophy… It’s a really important tournament before heading into the Australian Open. The final match was a bit tricky, (both of us) were over-hitting.”
She added: “I’m really curious about the average speed of our shots. It was a crazy match, and I’m really glad I got this win.”
In a social media post, Sabalenka shared: “Starting 2025 on the right foot 💪🏼Thank you Brisbane! 🫶🏼”
In the first set against Kudermetova, the world No. 1 from Belarus, who lost to Elena Rybakina in the previous year’s final before winning a second consecutive Melbourne Park title, looked slow and dropped her serve for the second time.
More so, Kudermetova was put under strain on service in the first game of the following set, but she overcame it and started to control play by hitting Sabalenka with more force from the baseline.
Sabalenka remarked: “That was really great tennis from her… It was really aggressive. She has some variations and she was using it really well. She definitely deserved to be in the final. I’m pretty sure if she continues working the way she is, then she will be in the top 50 soon.”
An amazing drop shot gave Sabalenka the lead, and the 26-year-old looked much more like her own powerful self in the remainder of the set as she forced a decider. To win her maiden title of the season, Sabalenka blocked Kudermetova’s late comeback attempt and broke in the last set with a clean crosscourt forehand winner, serving yet another reminder of her abilities.
Anhelina Kalinina almost lost against Caroline Wozniacki, the former world’s number one, having a point away from winning straight sets. However, the Ukrainian held onto the match point and went on to win the next five rallies of the second set before winning the third set with a record of 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round.
Wozniacki retired from tennis at the same tournament after winning the Australian Open in 2018. She made her comeback in the sport last year after giving birth to two children while she was away.
Sabalenka vs Kalinina
As the Miami Open progresses, anticipation rises for the clash between Aryna Sabalenka and Anhelina Kalinina. Both players have impressed, setting the stage for a thrilling third-round encounter.
Sabalenka, fresh from Indian Wells, faces Kalinina, who secured a hard-fought victory in her opening match.
With Sabalenka aiming for redemption and Kalinina seeking to maintain her momentum, tennis fans can expect an enthralling battle at the Hard Rock Stadium. Stay tuned for the outcome of this eagerly awaited showdown in the WTA 1000 tournament.
In a dramatic turn of events at the U.S. Open, Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva found herself at the centre of a social media storm after her third-round exit. The controversy erupted following a video that captured an awkward interaction with a ball girl during her 6-3, 6-4 loss to Jasmine Paolini.
Boos for Yulia Putintseva
The footage showed Putintseva, visibly frustrated, standing motionless as the ball girl attempted to hand her tennis balls. The athlete’s cold response, letting the balls bounce off her, sparked immediate boos from the crowd and a barrage of criticism online. Social media users lambasted Putintseva for what they perceived as disrespectful behaviour, with many calling her a poor role model and questioning her character.
She also faced widespread criticism on social media, with comments from former US Open champion and six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker, who posted on X, “Who does Putintseva think she is? Terrible behavior towards the ball girl!!!”
According to a report published by Fox News, Putintseva took to her social media platforms to issue a public apology, clarifying that her frustration was directed at herself for missing a crucial game point. She admitted to being lost in thought and not fully present during the exchange, emphasizing that her reaction was not intended for the ball girl.
Public apology and an explanation
“I want to apologize to the ball girl for how I was when she gave me balls. Honestly speaking, it was not about her. I was really pissed at myself for not winning the game from the breakpoint and then got empty with my emotions and deep in my thoughts, that I was not even focusing on what was going on and who gave me the ball… All the ball kids [were] doing amazing as always at the open,” Putintseva explained.
Despite the setback, the U.S. Open continues to captivate fans, with Jasmine Paolini advancing to the Round of 16, where she will face Karolina Muchova in what promises to be another thrilling encounter.
