Svitolina gives reasons for not shaking hands with Russians at French Open

Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina said her respect for her country's soldiers in the war against Russia was key to her decision not to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players at the French Open.

Svitolina chose not to shake hands with Russia's Anna Blinkova following her 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory in the third round of the women's singles in Paris.

Other Ukrainian players have also opted to take such a stance after facing players from Russia and Belarus who have been allowed to compete as neutrals on the tennis circuit.

"It started with the Ukrainian Government that went to the meetings with the Russian Government," said Svitolina in a report by English newspaper The Independent.

"They [Ukraine] were against shaking the hands because they’re not sharing the same values, obviously, and what the Russians are doing to our country.

"We are Ukrainians, all united for one goal of winning this war.

"We do anything that is required.

"I am Ukrainian. I am standing for my country, doing anything possible to support men and women who are right now in the front line fighting for our land, our country.

"Can you imagine the guy or girl in the front line looking at me and I am acting like nothing is happening?"

Svitolina is making her first appearance at a Grand Slam in 16 months having taken time out following the birth of her first child.

The 28-year-old had stepped away from the sport shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina is Svitolina's fourth-round opponent.

Kasatkina has previously stated that Ukrainians have good reason not to shake hands with opposition from her country due to the ongoing war which she has bene an outspoken critic of.

"I’m thankful to Dasha for taking this position," said Svitolina.

"That's what you expect from others, as well. It's really brave from her."

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk was booed off the court after she refused to shake hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka following her first-round defeat in Paris.

Kostyuk said "people should be embarrassed" after their reaction to her handshake snub of the world number two who stated that her opponent "didn't deserve to leave the court that way".

Following her victories in the first and second rounds, Sabalenka has faced questions from a Ukrainian journalist about the war in Ukraine.

Sabalenka was due to face the media again following her third-round 6-2, 6-2 win over Kamilla Rakhimova of France but refused to attend, citing mental health concerns.

A transcript of her conversation with a group of reporters handpicked by the tournament organisers was released instead.

"For many months now I have answered these questions at tournaments and been very clear in my feelings and my thoughts," said Sabalenka.

"These questions do not bother me after my matches.

"I know that I have to provide answers to the media on things not related to my tennis or my matches, but on Wednesday I did not feel safe in press conference.

"I should be able to feel safe when I do interviews with the journalists after my matches.

"For my own mental health and well-being, I have decided to take myself out of this situation today, and the tournament has supported me in this decision.

"It hasn't been an easy few days, and now my focus is continue to play well here in Paris."

Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10

For nearly 15 years now, insidethegames.biz has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody.

insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.

Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since.

As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport.

Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit.

The remainder of 2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We had the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we sent a team of four reporters, and coming up are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.

Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10 - it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.

Read more

Contribute

Geoff Berkeley is the chief senior reporter at insidethegames.biz. After joining Midlands-based newspaper publisher Bullivant Media in 2011, Geoff rose through the ranks to become editor of the Malvern Observer and sports editor of several other weekly titles. He then went on to be appointed as the Worcester Warriors correspondent for the Worcester News where he was nominated for Sports Journalist of the Year at the Midlands Media Awards in 2016 and 2017. He also had a spell at Sportsbeat in 2020.