Elina Svitolina from Ukraine refuses to shake hands with her opponents from Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Russia in Ukraine. Therefore, it was widely expected that she would not have a handshake with Victoria Azarenka in the first round in Washington. We had a similar situation with these players at Wimbledon.
However, the local crowd was not aware that there would not be a handshake, and therefore Vika Azarenka was booed soon after the match. The crowd was under the impression that Azarenka would not have a handshake because she was upset about the loss. In order to avoid this situation, the WTA announced before the match why Svitolina would have refused a handshake after the contest.
Here is the video.
No booing after Elina Svitolina & Victoria Azarenka match in Washington.
This is how it should’ve been at Wimbledon.
The tournament making a statement about the no handshake was the right decision.
No one was booed & both women got the respect they deserved. pic.twitter.com/6KgNh1fwVI
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 1, 2023
Svitolina in Washington, ranking, and results in 2023
LLWLWLLWLW Ranked world no.27, Svitolina owns a 18-9 win-loss record in 2023. The Ukrainian is playing at the moment in Washington where she bested the world no.19 Victoria Azarenka 7-62 6-4.
Elina Svitolina will square off with the world no.11 Darya Kasatkina in the 2nd round. The head to head is 7-0 for Svitolina.
The Ukrainian has won 1 title in 2023 in Strasbourg.
The Ukrainian won 17 titles in her career: 9 on hard courts, 6 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Victoria Azarenka in 2023
LWLWWLWWWW Currently ranked no.19, Victoria played her last match on the 31st of July when she lost to world no.27 Elina Svitolina 7-6(2) 6-4 in the 1st round in Washington (draw).
Currently, during this year Victoria has a compiled 17-14 record. Victoria Azarenka’s most significant result of the present season was reaching the semifinal at the Australian Open.
She is also scheduled to play at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open) after Montreal. The main draw will start on the 7th of August.
Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka clashed against each other 7 times. The head to head is 5-2 for Azarenka. Before, the last time they locked horns, Elina Svitolina won 7-6(2) 6-4 in the 1st round in Washington (Mubadala Citi DC Open) on the 31st of July 2023.
