Svitolina has long refused to shake hands with female tennis players from Russia and Belarus. She decided to take this stance because of the ongoing Russian occupation (with Belarusian help) of her country, which has been going on since last February.
After the defeat at the net, Azarenkova didn’t even wait for a hand, she just waved at her opponent from a distance, collected her things and went to the dressing room. However, along the way, the fans in the stadium started booing her.
The two-time Australian Open winner paused and shook her head in disbelief. Then she slammed her clenched fists together above her head.
At the post-match press conference, she then commented on the fans that they were probably drunk.
“What can I say to the fans? I have nothing to add. She (Svitolina) does not want to shake hands with Russians and Belarusians. And I respected her decision. What was I supposed to do? Stand and wait? I couldn’t do anything right. So I did what I thought was respect for her decision,” explained the 33-year-old tennis player.
Why would the Wimbledon crowd boo Victoria Azarenka? It makes no sense. It was Svitolina who has unilaterally decided not to shake hands with certain players. I feel sorry for @vika7 ! pic.twitter.com/zPWWqkwOiM
— Divir Jain (@divirj04) July 9, 2023
“But these handshake conversations are not essential. So if you want to keep doing it, keep bringing it up, make headlines out of it, then please go ahead. In my opinion, it was mainly a good match. If people are interested in shaking hands and the reaction of the audience, a quite drunk audience, then it’s a shame,” added Azarenková.
After the match, Svitolina only repeated on this topic that until the Russian soldiers leave the Ukrainian territory, she will not continue to shake hands with Russia and Belarus. According to her, the management of world tennis should issue a clear statement that the Ukrainians will not shake hands with the Russians and Belarusians, so that opponents and spectators are clear on how to proceed and avoid misunderstandings.
The native of Odesa, however, mostly enjoyed advancing to the quarterfinals. “I think of the people in our country. They support me, I know how much it means to them,” she said with tears in her eyes. “After I gave birth to our daughter, this is the most amazing moment in my life,” gushed Svitolina, who will face world No. 1 in the semi-finals Iga Šwiateková.