Picture Credit: Twitter
In yet another event, World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka was refused of a handshake from her opponent Elina Svitolina at the French Open 2023. Svitolina, who is making her first Grand Slam appearance after becoming a mother in October 2022, snubbed Sabalenka a handshake after she was defeated in the quarterfinals of the clay-court event on June 6, Tuesday.
It is to be noted that Svitolina, who hails from war-affected Ukraine has consistently refused to shake hands with her Russian and Belarus opponents after the match. Similarly, Sabalenka, who is a native of Belarus was also refused a handshake in the previous two occasions in ongoing French Open.
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However, to add more to this, the Ukrainian also received boos from the Parisian crowd after her gesture of not shaking hands with her opponent, despite the latter waiting at the nets after winning the game.
Moreover, the second-seeded player has also been under limelight after she had opted out of the press conference from her previous two matches. She cited that she “did not feel safe” after questions put up on her stance over Russia-Ukraine war and her links with the Belarus government.
Furthermore, the 25-year-old Belarus player will face K. Muchova of Czech Republic in the semifinal of the French Open 2023 on June 8.
