Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, ranked ninth in the world, respected the no-handshake policy of Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina at the French Open and was booed off the court by the fans in Paris.
That is upsetting to Kasatkina because she and Svitolina exchanged thumbs-ups after Svitolina won the fourth-round match on Sunday in straight sets. Svitolina isn’t exchanging handshakes with players from Russia or Belarus due to the Russian invasion of her homeland.
“Leaving Paris with a very bitter feeling,” Kasatkina wrote on Twitter on Monday. “All this days, after every match I’ve played in Paris I always appreciate and thanked crowd for support and being there for the players. But yesterday I was booed for just being respectful on my opponents position not to shake hands.
“Me and Elina showed respect to each other after a tough match but leaving the court like that was the worse part of yesterday. Be better, love each other. Don’t spread hate. Try to make this world better. I will love RG no matter what, always and forever. See u next year.”
Leaving Paris with a very bitter feeling. All this days, after every match I’ve played in Paris I always appreciate and thanked crowd for support and being there for the players. But yesterday I was booed for just being respectful on my opponents position not to shake hands. [1]
— Daria Kasatkina (@DKasatkina) June 5, 2023
Svitolina has been outspoken of players from Russia and Belarus (an ally) for not speaking out against the war.
Kasatkina, though, has expressed her dislike for the war and reportedly hasn’t gone back to Russia since the fighting began more than 15 months ago.
Svitolina is aware of Kasatkina’s feelings.
“Really thankful for her position that she took,” Svitolina said after her 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory. “She’s (a) really brave person to say it publicly, that not so many players did. She’s a brave one.”
Svitolina has reached the quarterfinals at the French Open just two months after returning from a pregnancy leave. She faces second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Tuesday.
Sabalenka skipped a recent French Open post-match press conference because of being bombarded with war questions after her previous victory.
–Field Level Media