The Ukrainian Elina Svitolina will face the Russian player Diana Shnaider on Friday in the round of 16 of the 2026 Australian Open. A meeting under high pressure while Shnaider was accused, by another Ukrainian player, of supporting Vladimir Putin.
The first big meeting of the 2026 ATP Tennis season began on January 18 in Melbourne. There, like the rest of the year, Russian and Belarusian players are allowed to play, despite the war that has been raging in Ukraine for almost four years and where more than a million soldiers have been killed or injured.
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Yesterday, in the columns of L’Équipe, the Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova did not mince her words, evoking “a major problem” and judging it “inadmissible” that the latter “are not excluded as they have been in other sports”. Above all, the 25-year-old targeted the names of players on the circuit.
Duel coming Friday
World number 1, Aryna Sabalenka, first. “Did you know that she signed the Lukashenko support list in 2020?” asked Oliynykova. Before targeting Diana Shnaider, 11th player in the world. “She was awarded by Putin. Well, Diana Shnaider said that she would be delighted to receive an award from her president. These are her own words, taken from an interview,” she said.
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“Honestly, I have no idea what she said, I really don’t know her, and I don’t think she knows me either,” replied Shnaider, when asked about the subject at a press conference. Faller of Barbora Krejcikova (WTA 58) and Talia Gibson (WTA 119), Shnaider will face the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the next round (Friday at 1:00 a.m.).
Svitolina no longer shakes hands
“Now what we can do is give the best of ourselves, represent our country with dignity and make our voice heard to attract attention, to obtain help, and not forget that we can use our influence to support our homeland” said this Wednesday the one who shares the life of Gaël Monfils after his victory over Linda Klimovicova.
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Svitolina (31 years old) and Shnaider (25 years old) have never faced each other on the circuit. At the start of 2025, Eliva Svitolina reiterated her desire not to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players. “I was extremely motivated to win today so that people in Ukraine wake up to good news,” she said after her victory over Russian Veronika Kudermetova in the round of 16 of the Australian Open.
