Elina Svitolina of Ukraine refuses to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus after their French Open quarterfinal match. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina was booed at the French Open on Tuesday after refusing to shake the hand of her Belarusian opponent Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka won the Grand Slam quarterfinal matchup in straight sets, then went to the net to shake the hand of her opponent. But Svitolina did not respond in kind, instead offering a thumbs up before she exited the court.
While Svitolina refused the handshake as an act of protest against the war in her home country, fans took issue with her snub of Sabalenka.
Aryna Sabalenka gets the better of Elina Svitolina to advance to the French Open semi-finals! 📈
The two do not share a handshake at the net ❌#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/OR0SLzLJwZ
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 6, 2023
The lack of handshake is not a new response for Svitolina, who has refused to shake the hand of any Russian or Belarusian opponent since the beginning of…
