Russian politician accuses Wimbledon Ukraine ace of 'shifting responsibility' in nasty row
Belarus star Victoria Azarenka was heavily booed as she left the Wimbledon court following her defeat to Elina Svitolina on Sunday night.
Russian State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova has hit out at Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian called on tennis organisations to put out a "statement that there will be no handshake between Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian players". Sunday's match between Svitolina and Azarenka was the first match of this year's Wimbledon that saw a Ukraine player face off against someone from Russia or Belarus.
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Svitolina has been one of the most outspoken players on tour denouncing Russia's war on Ukraine and has repeatedly stated she wouldn't shake hands with Belarus or Russian players. The 28-year-old reiterated that point ahead of her match against Azarenka before the pair embarked on an epic duel inside Court One late at night.
Svitolina came back from a set and a break down to record an emotional win over Azarenka in a championship tiebreak. There was no handshake at the net as Svitolina promised - although Azarenka raised a hand to congratulate her opponent - before the Belarus star was left shocked at being booed off the court.
An understandably agitated Azarenka reacted by bumping her fists together above her head as she walked off and felt the jeers were a result of people in the crowd not understanding what happened between the players. Svitolina refused to sympathise for her opponent after the match, but felt the impetus was on tennis organisations to "come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian players".
Wimbledon will unlikely have a similar situation arise in the singles matches unless Svitolina and Sabalenka both make it to Saturday's final. But with the sheer number of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian players on tour it's inevitable they will face one another in future tournaments while handshakes still look unlikely to take place.
However, Svitolina's calls to have tennis organisations intervene and help more people understand the handshake situation has been blasted by Russian deputy State Duma Zhurova. The 2006 speed skating Olympic champion accused Svitolina of 'shifting responsibility'.
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“Ukrainian tennis players are shifting responsibility from themselves to international federations," Zhurova told Russian media. "They have been saying and demanding this for a long time, fearing persecution in their own country. Svitolina is insured in this way."
Wimbledon No 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka experienced a difficult atmosphere in the French Open earlier this summer with fans booing her in matches against Ukraine players. She's yet to experience what Azarenka did on Sunday night at Wimbledon, but reiterated Svitolina's calls for tournaments to put out a message before such a match takes place.
"As Elina said, I think someone have to come out on social media with the announcement that there is not going to be handshake so players will not leave court with so much hate," she said. "It would be good for the crowd to actually know what's going on. There is a reason behind no handshake."
