Wimbledon organizers will not make statements about the refusal of Ukrainians to shake hands
The organizers of Wimbledon appreciated the need for statements about the refusal of Ukrainian athletes to shake hands with Russians and Belarusians. The position of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club was voiced by chief executive Sally Bolton in a conversation with the BBC.
“We will not make announcements that there will be no handshakes. I think we have an extremely knowledgeable public that understands what’s going on,” Bolton said, emphasizing that after the matches, you should only talk about tennis and not be distracted by everything else.
On July 10, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina addressed the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association during a press conference at Wimbledon 2023. She called on the organizations to issue a statement that there would be no handshakes between Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players.
Ukrainian tennis players do not shake hands with Russians and Belarusians, and do not take joint photos after matches. In response, the audience booed the athletes.
Source: Lenta
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