Elina Svitolina spoke about the incident that happened at the 2023 Wimbledon after Victoria Azarenka was booed off the court.
Svitolina, like other Ukrainian players, has chosen to abstain from the traditional handshake with players from Russia and Belarus as an expression of her socio-political stand. That happened also in the match against Victoria Azarenka, but it didn't end nicely.
When the Belarusian was leaving the court after a sensational match, she was booed by the spectators on the No. 1 Court in the All England Club, and for obvious reasons, she wasn't happy about it. Azarenka also spoke about it afterward, saying that she did what she thought was respectful.
In her post-match conference, Svitolina addressed these reactions and urged the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to issue a statement regarding this stance, which has become a controversial point within the tennis community.
"Well, I got the same. I got the same in Paris. I played three matches in Paris in this way. Today, as well. For me personally, I think the tennis organizations, they 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 maybe not clear for people. Some people not really know what is happening. So I think this is the right way to do."
Svitolina went on to recall her experience in Paris, pointing out the inconsistency of crowd reactions depending on the match outcome. The Ukrainian feels that often the booing probably isn't even directed at a certain player, but the player that was on the loosing side of the match that was without a handshake.
"Well, it was like this in Paris. It also was unfair for me in Paris quarterfinal. Well, as I mentioned, each player that loses, and there is no handshake, it's getting booed I feel like. So I don't know. If today would be a different reaction if I would lose, I don't know. I cannot really answer this question. In Paris it was like this. I had unbelievable support for other matches. But in quarterfinal, I got booed off the court."
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