War in Ukraine: Aryna Sabalenka waits for Elina Svitolina at the net…even knowing full well that she won’t shake his hand

The Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, very committed to supporting her nation invaded by Russian and Belarusian forces, has refused since the start of this Roland-Garros to shake hands with her opponents from these two countries. But Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus still waited for her at the net on Tuesday for the traditional greetings, after beating her 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

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Second favorite on the ocher of Paris, Sabalenka of course waited in vain. Svitolina, who recently returned to the tour after having her first child, skipped the handshake, going straight to her chair instead. A decision which earned him whistles from the public seated in the stands of the Philippe-Chatrier stadium, the central in Paris.

Sabalenka finally gave her a thumbs up, but Svitolina didn’t seem impressed with the gesture.

“I don’t know what she was doing at the net, because my position was very clear about handshakes,” Svitolia told reporters after the game. I was expecting boos, so I’m not surprised.”

“Did staying at the net make her worse [les huées]? I believe so,” she continued.

Svitolina, a former member of the top 5, explained her decision not to shake hands with her Russian or Belarusian opponents, saying in particular that it would be frowned upon by the soldiers who defend Ukraine.

“It started with our government not shaking hands with the other government,” she said. Can you also imagine those who, on the front, would see me acting as if nothing was happening?

“She is brave”

Svitolina had done the same in the previous round, when she faced Russian Daria Kasatkina. The latter, however, had not waited for her at the net. Kasatkina had also shown her respect by giving her a thumbs up, but unlike Sabalenka, she had returned to her chair.

And this time, it was Kasatkina who drew boos from French spectators with a clearly changing mood.

Svitolina had also praised the courage of her rival. Kasatkina denounced the war waged by his country in Ukraine last year, in addition to revealing his homosexuality, even if it could earn him reprisals from his government.

“I am really grateful for his position, had commented the Ukrainian. She is brave to have done so publicly, few players have spoken like this.

Two missed conferences

The war between Russia and Ukraine is one of the hot topics at Roland-Garros this year. Several matches on the women’s side have pitted players from these two countries against each other.

Sabalenka had also been opposed to a Ukrainian in the first round. Marta Kostyuk had also deliberately chosen not to shake his hand.

The Belarusian, one of the favorites in Paris, was also allowed to miss two press conferences during the tournament, which is usually punishable by a fine. She said she felt threatened by questions from a Ukrainian journalist about her position on the war and her relationship with the authoritarian leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

“I can’t stand war”

But she did on Tuesday and in front of representatives of the media, Sabalenka reiterated that she did not defend the war that her country is waging alongside Russia.

“I’ve said it many times: I can’t stand war. I don’t want to see my country be involved in a conflict, said the second world. I don’t want to link sport and politics either. I’m only a 25 year old tennis player. If I wanted to do politics, I wouldn’t be here.”

Sabalenko also denied having been seen alongside Lukashenko in the past. “He was coming to our Fed Cup games [désormais appelée la Coupe Billie Jean King]. He took pictures with us. At the time, nothing serious was happening in Ukraine, Russia or Belarus.”

“I can’t stand the war. So I can’t stand Lukashenko right now,” she also replied to a reporter.