Ukrainian tennis player Kostiuk booed at Roland Garros for refusing to shake hands with Belarusian athlete

At the initial stage of the French Open, Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostiuk refused to execute a customary handshake with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, instigating derogatory reactions among the match's audience.

Tribune writes about this.

On May 28, Ukrainian player Marta Kostiuk succumbed to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the first round of Roland Garros, resulting in a 3:6, 2:6 scoreline. After the match had concluded, both tennis players shook hands with the referee, yet a handshake between the two competitors was not shared.

According to the media, even before the match, Belarusian Sabalenka knew Kostiuk would not shake her hand.

"If she hates me, that's fine. I can't do anything about it […] If I could, I would stop the war. And as for the handshake, I can understand Ukrainian women. I imagine that if they shake hands with tennis players from Russia and Belarus, they will receive so many messages from their countries. At the same time, it seems to me that sport should not be connected with politics," said Sabalenka.

However, the public reacted negatively to Marta Kostiuk's gesture and started booing her. Instead, Sabalenka was supported by applause.

As "Great Tennis of Ukraine" writes, Marta Kostiuk herself answered Sabalenka before the match that she has no hatred for her:

"I come to the tournament; I want to win every match I play; the only thing I do is not shake hands. I have never said, either in an interview or in personal communication to Arina Sobolenko or anyone to another, that I hate them. Why she started talking about it like that – I don't even know how to comment on it."

Instead, Kostiuk emphasized that she has no respect for players from aggressor countries.

In addition to Marta, five more Ukrainian women will perform in the main draw of the French Open Championship – Elina Svitolina, Anhelina Kalinina, Lesia Tsurenko, Kateryna Beindl, and Dayana Yastremska, who passed the qualification.

It has been duly noted by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) that Aryna Sabalenka is currently placed in the second position in the world ranking. Moreover, Alexander Lukashenka, the self–proclaimed president of the country, had embodied his support of the Belarusian athlete, as evident in 2019 when the latter proclaimed him "a member of her team."

"It's good to be born in a country where the president supports sports like no other and is ready to help in a difficult moment," said Sabalenka.

In 2023, at a tournament in Germany, she had to answer questions about her attitude to Lukashenka, where she replied that she "has no relation to politics."

"I don't know what to say because he [Lukashenka] can comment on my game; he can comment on anything he wants… If Ukrainians hate me even more after his words, what should I do?" Sabalenka said.

For reference:

It should be noted that Ukrainian athletes won "gold" at the European Championship in academic rowing.

The Ukrainian also won gold at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship for the first time in 18 years.

In Israel, Ukrainian draftsman Artem Ivanov won the 2023 World Drafts Championship in the blitz game.