Belarusian tennis player Victoria Azarenka claimed that a Wimbledon crowd that booed her off the court was “drunk with Pimms”, as her Ukrainian opponent Elina Svitolina called the “incredible” supporters.
Azarenka received boos from the spectators as she started to walk away following her fourth-round loss, prompting her to bump her fists in a dismissive gesture. She hit out at “unfair” behavior at a later press conference and accused fans of being drunk.
But giving her own reaction, Svitolina said: “I heard a lot of Ukrainian people in the crowd, so it was really special.” The crowd was incredible, it was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in.
The Ukrainian has a policy of not shaking hands with Russian or Belarusian players amid the ongoing war, and she herself was booed by a crowd at the French Open for not shaking hands with her quarterfinal opponent, Aryna. Sabalenka.
Asked if she was surprised by the hostility directed at Azarenka yesterday, she said: “Every player who loses and there’s no handshake is getting booed…tennis organizations have to come out with a no handshake statement. Many people don’t know what’s going on.
Azarenka criticized the ‘unfair’ behavior in a subsequent press conference and accused the fans of being drunk.
But Svitolina said the atmosphere at Court One was ‘incredible’
Azarenka appeared to make a dismissive gesture in reaction to the jeers from the Wimbledon crowd, as she pumped her fists after glancing towards the stands.
Asked if the crowd’s reaction was “unfair,” she replied: “It was also unfair to me in Paris in the quarterfinals.”
The Wimbledon crowd set the stage during the match, as they overwhelmingly trailed Svitolina throughout the contest, giving her a thunderous ovation as she cruised to a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(9) win.
As expected, there was no handshake at the net, although there was a nod of appreciation between the two players with Azarenka greeting Svitolina after the Ukrainian’s win.
She slammed her fists together in apparent disgust at the reaction to her, before walking down the tunnel.
Azarenka in her post-match press conference insisted she has done nothing wrong, blamed ‘drunk’ fans for the booing and questioned why she should wait for Svitolina when she doesn’t want to shake her hand.
The 33-year-old said: ‘I feel like it’s been pretty consistent over the last 18, 19 months. I haven’t done anything wrong, but sometimes I still get treated differently.
But what can I say about the crowd? There is nothing to say. He doesn’t want to shake hands with Russians or Belarusians. I respected his decision. What should I have done? Did she stay and wait?
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Azarenka was booed by the Wimbledon crowd after her fourth round exit.
Azarenka acknowledged Svitolina following her three-set loss on Sunday night
I mean, there’s nothing I could do that would have been right, so I did what I thought was respectful of her decision.
‘But this conversation about shaking hands is not a life-changing conversation. So if you want to keep talking about it, bring it up, make it a big deal, headlines, whatever, go ahead.
‘I thought it was a great tennis match. If people are going to just focus on the handshakes or the crowd, a pretty drunk crowd, booing at the end, that’s a shame. That’s probably what it is at the end of the day.
Svitolina in her own press conference said she felt tennis authorities should release a statement confirming there will be no handshake between the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players as “some people don’t know what’s going on.”
After saying she “couldn’t answer” if she was surprised by the hostile reaction, she added: “I feel like every player who loses, and there’s no handshake, gets booed.”
“I think the tennis organizations have to come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian/Belarusian and Ukrainian players.
Svitolina made it clear that she will not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian tennis players
“I don’t know if maybe it’s not clear to people. I have already said several times that until the Russian troops are out of Ukraine and we regain our territories, we will not shake hands.
‘I have a clear statement. I don’t know how clearer I can be.
A handshake was not expected, as Svitolina has not shaken hands with Russian or Belarusian athletes in recent times due to the invasion of her country.
Svitolina was booed at the French Open when she refused to shake hands with Belarusian world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Svitolina was taken aback by the reaction and accused her opponent of adding fuel to the fire by offering her hand at the net.
On the other hand, Russian player Daria Kasatkina, who has been a strong anti-Putin stance, simply gave a thumbs up and Svitolina admitted she respected.
During the French Open, Svitolina explained that she will not shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents out of respect for Ukrainians fighting to defend their country.
“It started with the Ukrainian government going to meetings with the Russian government,” Svitolina said last month.
“They (Ukraine) were against shaking hands because they don’t share the same values, obviously, and what the Russians are doing to our country.
‘We are Ukrainians, all united by the goal of winning this war. We do everything that is required.
Svitolina was booed at the French Open when she refused to shake hands with Belarusian world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Svitolina only returned to tour in April after the birth of her daughter in October.
After her victory over Azarenka, she said: ‘After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second fabulous moment in my life.
‘It was a very tough game. When I was down 0-2 in the second set, I heard them cheer me up and I almost wanted to cry. I was really struggling and I really wanted to win today. You gave me a lot of strength today.’
Svitolina was also strengthened by thinking about the plight of her stricken homeland, saying: “I was thinking that at home there are many people who look at me and cheer me on, I know how much it means to them.”
Any moment they can share happiness. I was thinking that there are difficult times in Ukraine and I am here playing against you. I can’t complain, I just have to fight. And here I am, I won the game.
Svitolina in the next round will face world number 1 Iga Swiatek with a place in the semifinals at stake.
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