Maryna Zanevska played her last career match at the 2023 US Open, losing to Aryna Sabalenka, and not shaking the Belarusian's hand.
It's been a not-so-long career for the 30-year-old Belgian, born in Odesa, Ukraine. Until 2016, Zanevska represented Ukraine, but since then, she has played under Belgium's flag. Recently, she announced that the 2023 US Open would be her final event, as she was struggling with back pain.
"It's time to say goodbye for tennis for now. I have been struggling with back pain for the last four years, and I got to the point where I can't give to tennis what's requiring to be competitive on the highest level of this extremely difficult, demanding sport."
The draw wasn't really nice to Zanevska, as she took on the second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka already in the first round. As expected, Sabalenka won the match in straight sets, but something that maybe wasn't expected by some was the missing handshake after the match.
We've seen handshake snubs from Ukrainian players against Belarusians or Russians in the past on the WTA Tour, but since Zanevska represents Belgium, it was probably not expected, and Sabalenka's reaction underlined that.
However, despite representing Belgium, Zanevska remembers where she came from, and therefore, she made the decision not to shake her opponent's hand. During the match, she also had a Ukrainian pin on her hat, and after the match, she explained:
"I know I’m representing Belgium but all my family are in Ukraine. I respect Aryna as a tennis player. She’s a great champion, hard worker, and I mean what she’s doing in tennis is amazing. But it’s my personal decision about not shaking the hand to someone who couldn’t step up. I don’t judge her. She’s protecting her family, but I’m protecting my family."
"I have family fighting on the frontline. And I think if I shake her hand it would be the same as spitting in the face of them. It was not the best way of leaving the court because people were booing but I was ready for that. But I’m leaving the tennis world with my head up and something I believe I did right."
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