Belarusian tennis player Azarenka said she respects the decision of the Ukrainians not to shake hands
Belarusian tennis player Victoria Azarenka appreciated the refusal of Ukrainian women to shake hands after the matches. Her words are quoted by Reuters.
The athlete said that she respects the decision of Ukrainian women, including Elina Svitolina, with whom she played at Wimbledon 2023, not to shake hands. “What was I supposed to do? Stand and wait? There is no correct behavior in this situation, so I just did what I thought was respectful of her decision, ”she emphasized.
On July 9, Azarenka lost to Svitolina in the fourth round of Wimbledon with a score of 6:2, 4:6, 6:7 (9:11). After the meeting, the tennis players did not shake hands, and the Belarusian spectators in the stands booed. “I feel that the attitude of the fans over the past 18-19 months has not changed. I didn’t do anything wrong, but sometimes they treat me differently than others, ”said Azarenka.
Earlier, Svitolina called on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to issue a statement that there would be no handshakes between Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players. In her opinion, this would be the right thing to do.
WTA and ATP did not completely remove the Russians and Belarusians. Athletes take part in the tournament in a neutral status.
Source: Lenta
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