Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko opted not to shake hands with Russian opponent Daria Kasatkina after a loss at the 2023 Madrid Open.
The world of tennis witnessed another interesting moment during the 2023 Madrid Open when Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko declined to shake hands with her Russian counterpart, Daria Kasatkina, after a 6-4, 6-2 loss in the third round.
As the two crossed paths at the end of the match, Kasatkina understood that her opponent doesn't want to shake hands and she offered Tsurenko a quick wave. Surprisingly, it seemed that the Ukrainian athlete responded with a subtle but noticeable acknowledgment.
This incident, which took place on the Arantxa Sanchez court, is a reflection of the current war and tensions that have spilled over into the sports arena. Many players openly spoke about tensions in the locker room on the WTA Tour, and it's not the first time that we saw a Ukrainian refuse to shake hands with a Russian.
It's also not the first time that Tsurenko is involved in something similar, as recently she withdrew from her match at Indian Wells against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. As she later revealed, it came as a result of a panic attack after a conversation with WTA CEO Steve Simon about the involvement of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
It was a very interesting choice from the Ukrainian not to shake hands with Kasatkina, as she's by far the most vocal of all of the Russians, also alongside her ATP colleague Andrey Rublev, who often shares his opinions about the ongoing war.
But in the past, Kasatkina stated that she wanted the war to end, but also claimed that Ukrainians are her friends. Moreover, after all of her comments, a Russian state Duma member wanted Kasatkina listed as a 'foreign agent'. In a post-match interview, Kasatkina stated.
"What's more sad it that we are still in war and the Ukranians have reasons not to shake hands with us. We waved at each other and I was happy about that..."
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