Latvian Ostapenko did not shake hands with Belarusian Azarenka at the WTA tournament in Doha
Latvian tennis player Elena Ostapenko refused to shake hands with her opponent from Belarus Victoria Azarenka after the 1/8 finals match of the WTA-1000 tournament in Doha (Qatar). This was reported by a Lenta.ru correspondent.
The meeting ended with a score of 6:0, 6:3 in favor of Azarenka. The winner offered her hand to her opponent, but she held out her racket in response. Azarenka refused to touch rackets in lieu of a handshake.
On February 1, the Latvian Seimas adopted amendments to the Sports Law prohibiting Latvian team sports teams from competing with teams from Russia and Belarus. The ban will apply even if Russians and Belarusians perform under a neutral flag.
Ukrainian tennis players usually do not shake hands with Russians and Belarusians and do not take joint photos after matches. In response to this, spectators sometimes boo the athletes.
Source: Lenta
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