(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina felt the Washington organizers and WTA made “the right thing” in announcing there would be no handshake following the conclusion of her match against Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka. On Monday night, Svitolina defeated Azarenka 7-6 (2) 6-4 win in the Washington first round.
During the match, it was shown on the screen that there would be no post-match handshake at the net.“At the conclusion of the match, there will be no handshake between the players. We appreciate your respect for both athletes during and following the match, and for your understanding during these difficult circumstances,” the message on the screen read.
Svitolina praises the move: It’s the right thing
“It’s the right thing.
I asked for the WTA to respect the decision of Ukrainians. And they did,” Svitolina said after the match.When Svitolina and Azarenka met in the Wimbledon round-of-16 on July 9th, the Belarusian was booed off court by the crowd.
After the match, some wondered if the crowd felt that Azarenka didn’t want to shake hands with Svitolina. Then, Svitolina proposed in her press conference to have Wimbledon make a statement that there…
