CNN
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Ukrainian tennis player Elena Svitolina He said he was unsure why he was anti-Belarusian Arina Sabalenka They then waited at the net for a handshake. French Open Match
With war raging in her home country, Svitolina has refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players since returning to tennis last year after the birth of her first child.
But Sabalenka, who advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-4 6-4 victory at Roland Garros on Tuesday, waited at the net to concede to Svitolina.
“I don’t know, to be fair, what she was waiting for [for]Because my statements about the handshake were quite clear,” the former world No. 3 told reporters.
He added: “My initial reaction, I don’t know, was like, what are you doing? Because, yeah, I say my clear position in all my press conferences. So I don’t know.”
Sabalenka faced a similar situation Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk In the first round of the French Open, when her opponent also walked off the court without shaking hands.
After her third- and fourth-round matches, Sabalenka stopped attending the traditional post-match press conferences, saying she did not feel safe when they were held last Wednesday.
However, he attended the regular press conference after the quarter-finals and said he waited at the net out of “instinct”.
The world No. 2 also reiterated his stance against the war in Ukraine and said he had always respected the format of the press conference.
“I’m always open in my answers,” Sabalenka told reporters. “I feel bad not being here.” I couldn’t sleep. As all those bad feelings were in my head, I couldn’t sleep.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here. I really respect all of you guys. Thank you so much for being here, for taking an interest in me.”
Asked if Sabalenka had provoked the handshake situation by waiting at the net, Svitolina said: “Yes, unfortunately I think so.”
Despite being away from tennis, Svitolina, 28, enjoyed a strong run at the French Open after winning her 17th WTA title in Strasbourg ahead of the tournament.
She was able to go toe-to-toe with Sabalenka on Court Philippe-Chatrier for most of the first set and looked to make a comeback early in the second set.
But Sabalenka’s power game from the baseline eventually overwhelmed Svitolina as she earned two breaks of serve to win in straight sets.
The Australian Open champion finished with 30 wins to Svitolina’s seven and will next face Karolina Mochova of the Czech Republic on Thursday for a place in the French Open final.