Wimbledon
Handshake debate: Switolina demands a statement
Jelina Switolina celebrates her victory. photo
© Alastair Grant/AP/dpa
The effects of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine have finally reached Wimbledon. The Ukrainian Jelina Switolina makes a clear demand.
In the debate about handshakes with professionals from Russia and Belarus, the Ukrainian Jelina Switolina called for a clear statement from the tennis organizations. “I think they have to go public with a statement that there will be no handshakes between Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players,” said Switolina (28) at Wimbledon after her round of 16 win over Viktoria Asarenka from Belarus.
“This is a clear statement from me”
After that Switolina had refrained from shaking hands after a game, which is mandatory in tennis. Because of the Russian war of aggression on her homeland, Svitolina refuses to play players from Russia and to shake hands with Belarus. “I’ve said it several times that as long as Russian troops don’t leave Ukraine and we’ve taken back our territories, I won’t do any handshakes. That’s a clear statement from me,” said Switolina.
Her opponent Asarenka accepted that after her defeat, but was then booed by some of the spectators when she left the field. The former number one in the world then stopped completely stunned and then left the court with a gesture that was not defined later, in which she crossed her hands in the air.
Clear message “the right way”
“Maybe some people don’t realize it. Some people don’t seem to know what’s going on,” Switolina said. She recalled being booed at the French Open in Paris when she failed to congratulate the world number two on the net after her quarterfinal defeat by Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus. Therefore, a clear announcement by the organizations is “the right way”.
Azarenka was disappointed by the audience’s reaction, but annoyed by the discussion of the topic. “Don’t make it bigger than it is. It doesn’t change a person’s life whether someone shakes hands with someone else on the net or not,” Azarenka said. “I’ve known Jelina for a long time and have always had a good relationship with her. The circumstances are what they are.”