(Paris) Five days after the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk with the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Svitolina did not shake hands with her Russian opponent Anna Blinkova after her victory on Friday at Roland-Garros, but nevertheless sent her a small friendly gesture .
Victorious in this third round match 2-6, 6-2, 7-5, Svitolina approached the net where her opponent was waiting for her, before giving her a thumbs up.
Boos then descended from the stands of the Simonne-Mathieu court, without it being possible to say with certainty to whom they were intended. These boos were quickly drowned out by applause for Svitolina, who was very supportive throughout the game.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has been common for Ukrainian women not to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian opponents on the circuit in protest at the response of world tennis bodies, that they find them too accommodating with regard to the athletes of the two allied countries.
On Sunday, after the first match on center court, Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk completely ignored Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka after her defeat, drawing boos from the public.
“People should be ashamed!” “, had then declared Kostyuk.
