Ukrainian tennis participant Marta Kostyuk was booed after refusing to shake fingers together with her Belarusian opponent on the Roland Garros event in Paris on Sunday.
The tensions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took middle stage within the worldwide tennis championship as Kostyuk confronted the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who’s the quantity two within the girls’s tennis rating and one of many favorites for the ultimate victory, within the first spherical.
The 20-year-old Kostyuk beforehand criticized the choice by tennis authorities to permit Russian and Belarusian gamers to compete as neutrals after the beginning of the battle in Ukraine, and has refused to shake fingers together with her Russian and Belarusian opponents since.
The group in Paris booed the Ukrainian tennis participant on Sunday after she walked away from Sabalenka on the finish of the match.
Sabalenka was cheered by supporters as she took a bow on the finish of the sport. The Belarusian participant informed reporters that she understands her opponents’ choice to not shake fingers.
“I think about in the event that they’re going to shake fingers with Russians and Belarusians, then they’re gonna get so many messages from their house international locations,” Sabalenka mentioned after the sport.
“If she hates me, OK. I can’t do something about that,” she added.
