The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) issued a statement in light of the Wimbledon handshake controversy surrounding Victoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina.
Svitolina came out on top in a tight 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) contest against Azarenka in their fourth-round matchup on Sunday. But it was after the match that really made headlines.
Given that Svitolina, a Ukrainian, has refused to shake hands with any Russian or Belarusian players due to the ongoing war, Azarenka, hailing from Belarus, decided to offer a hand gesture in appreciation of the former.
It was acknowledged by Svitolina, but resulted in the Wimbledon crowd in attendance booing Azarenka who shook her head in disbelief and later claimed her treatment was unfair.
The WTA has now issued a statement in response declaring that it respects the position of Ukrainian athletes in not abiding by the tradition of shaking hands with opponents from Russia and Belarus.
“Following the unfortunate circumstances and misunderstanding in yesterday’s match at Wimbledon (along with other matches the past several weeks), the WTA would like to provide clarity around post-match handshakes. Due to the ongoing reprehensible war, the WTA respects the position of the Ukrainian athletes in foregoing the tradition of shaking opponents’ hands (from Russia and Belarus) at the end of a match, as this is a personal decision.
“We have some of the best fans in the world and are grateful for their passion and dedication, and we thank them for their understanding and respect for the athletes.”
As some fans have pointed out in response, the statement was extremely long due and addressed nothing about Azarenka or players in general getting booed by the fans.
Hopefully, there are no further such incidents throughout the rest of the tournament.
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