The tension between the two countries that the sportswomen represent was once once more felt this Tuesday, June 6 on the Philippe-Chartier court at Roland-Garros. Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina refused Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka a handshake at the end of the match. One represents Ukraine, the other Belarus, a country led by the pro-Kremlin president Alexandre Loukachenko.
The refusal of this handshake irritated the Central who immediately booed the Ukrainian champion, as evidenced by this extract published on social networks.
However, this is not the first time that the Ukrainian has refused a handshake, as she indicated at a press conference. “I don’t know why she was waiting. My statements were very clear regarding the handshake. I expected anyone losing in this situation to be booed. So it was no surprise that I got booed,” did she say.
In response, the Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka wanted to clarify her vision on the politics of her country, also at a press conference. “I’ve said it many times, I don’t support war, I don’t want my country involved.”
For the player, the sport must be extracted from any political message. “I don’t support war, and I don’t want to involve sport and politics, I’m just a 25-year-old tennis player, if I wanted to do politics I wouldn’t be here.”
