Ukrainian Tennis Federation Gives Verdict On Shaking Hands With Russians At Wimbledon
WTASunday, 02 July 2023 at 05:30
Updated at Thursday, 15 May 2025 at 22:07
The Ukrainian Tennis Federation announced ahead of Wimbledon that no player from the country is forced to comply with the 'no handshake' policy.
Roland Garros was a very interesting event that featured plenty of 'no handshakes' as Ukrainian players declined to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players.
Ever since the war broke out, Ukrainian players declined to shake hands with their Russian colleagues, and it expanded to Belarusians after the country openly supported the war.
The decision to do so is due to the respect every Ukrainian holds for those fighting on the front lines for their country, but no player had to really be asked to do so by the Ukrainian Tennis Federation.
Evgeniy Zukin, who is the executive director of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation, explained to Ubitennis that no player is really obligated to avoid shaking hands. It's still a personal choice to do it or not.
"There is no rule. Every player decides for themselves whether they do it or not. But I wouldn’t expect a Ukrainian player to shake hands with Russian players."
There have been those among Russian and Belarusian players who have been quite understanding of it. Aryna Sabalenka didn't really have a problem with it, and neither did Daria Kasatkina and some other players. On behalf of the Federation, Zukin recognized that not all Russian and Belarusian players agree with what is happening in their country.
"We know that not every Russian player is the same but the thing is that Ukrainians cannot shake their hands because of the respect of those fighting on the frontline who have lost their lives to the Russians."
"It’s nothing to do with Kasatkina or whoever, it’s about the feelings for Ukrainians. I think this is the right explanation of why it is done this way and this is the right way."
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