French Open: Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine ‘did not deserve’ to be booed off the court, according to Aryna Sabalenka, when she declined to shake hands at the conclusion of their French Open match.
The second-ranked player in the world from Belarus, who won 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round in Paris, was unsurprised by the decision, which elicited jeers from the sparse Court Philippe Chatrier audience.
Kostyuk had earlier stated that she would not shake hands with tour competitors from Russia and Belarus, which serves as a staging area for Moscow’s’special military operations in Ukraine, if she believed their opposition to it had not been loud enough.
Sabalenka replied, “I understand why they’re not shaking hands with us. I can foresee what would happen to them from the Ukrainian side if they shake hands with us.”
“I realise that this isn’t a personal matter. She didn’t merit leaving the courtroom in my opinion.
Sabalenka said that she was originally perplexed by the audience’s response and bowed mockingly to them before later thanking them for their support.
“We all know Ukrainian girls won’t shake hands with us, so I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to us, but the general public today undoubtedly was,” the 25-year-old continued.
“They booed because they believed it was disrespectful to me as a player; at first, I assumed they were criticising me. I was somewhat perplexed.
“After that, I realised what was happening and thanked the general population. At first, I felt bad about what I done.
“Nobody will ever support it (the war), and reasonable people won’t either. Why do we need to say that out loud? We would act if it could influence the conflict or put an end to it. Unfortunately, we have no control over it.”
Kostyuk made it clear she did not anticipate a similar reaction when the next Grand Slam takes place at Wimbledon later in the summer and speculated that the group of spectators who jeered her could feel differently in years to come.
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