Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk was booed at a match in France for refusing to shake hands with Belarusian player Alina Sabalenka because Belarus supports Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. bathed.
Mr. Kostyuk, 20 years old, Rejected The paper reported that he deliberately snubbed the 25-year-old Sabalenka after she lost at the French Open on Sunday, hoping to make eye contact with the 25-year-old. daily mail.
After the match, Kostyuk (dressed in dark blue) shook hands with the linesman, but then turned away from Sabalenka (dressed in white and pink).
This disrespect caused boos from the crowd in the stands of the Roland Garros stadium in Paris.
🎾 Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with her opponent after her first-round match against Alina Sabalenka of Belarus. #french open. Some in the audience applauded the act, while others booed, according to Tribuna. pic.twitter.com/Fl74hqq8nw
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) May 28, 2023
Sabalenka won the match 6-3, 6-2.
This was no casual disrespect either. Since Russian forces launched a brutal invasion of neighboring Ukraine last year, Kostyuk has publicly refused to recognize Russian or Belarusian players, engaging them or shaking hands in the traditional post-match greeting. have refused to do so.
Watching the women’s singles first round match against Alina Sabalenka on the first day of the women’s singles first round at Roland Garros, Paris, France, May 28, 2023, shaking hands with the referee before avoiding shaking hands with Alina Sabalenka Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Belarus does not provide troops for Putin’s aggression, but does allow Russia to use its territory to send Russian troops. He openly supports Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko recently said Russia would transfer tactical nuclear bombs to Belarus and keep them on hand for use in Ukraine if Putin agrees.
Sabalenka after the match claimed She did not support Putin’s war.
“Regarding the war situation, I have said many times that no one in this world, neither the Russian players nor the Belarusian players, supports the war. people will definitely not support,” CNN reported. “Of course we don’t support war. And if you could somehow influence a war and we could stop it, we would, but unfortunately that’s not me.” It’s not in our hands.”
But Sabalenka added that she fully understands why the crowd booed why Kostyuk didn’t shake hands.
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