Organizers announce no handshake between players to avoid controversy as Ukraine's Elina Svitolina outplays Victoria Azarenka

During Wimbledon 2023, a tense moment occurred in the sporting world when Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka was booed by fans. The incident occurred when the player did not extend a handshake to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina after the latter won the match. However, it should be noted that Svitolina did not offer a handshake either.

Now, Svitolina recently defeated Azarenka in straight sets at the WTA Tour DC Open in Washington on Monday, 31^st of July 2023. To avoid any kind of controversy, the organizers already issued an advisory of ‘no handshake between players’ before the start of the match between Svitolina and Azarenka.

"At the conclusion of the match there will be no handshake between the players," read the message that was flashed on a big screen in the arena.

"We appreciate your respect for both athletes during and following the match, and for your understanding during these difficult circumstances,” the message read further.

Azarenka gives a thumbs-up to Svitolina before leaving the court

Notably, Svitolina has declined to shake hands with the players from Russia and Belarus since the geopolitical tensions and war-like situation between Russia and Ukraine. Since the invasion of her homeland, Svitolina has never entertained the players of Russia and Belarus with very good spirits. For the uninitiated, Belarus is currently a major military ally of Russia.

Although things were not much intense in the recently-concluded match between both the tennis superstars as message was already displayed by the organizers. Subsequently, Azarenka acknowledged Svitolina’s win by giving her a thumbs up before both the players left the court.

Speaking of the action of the match, the Ukrainian star ended up winning the match by a margin of 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. She finished the match-breaking serve given by Azarenka in the 10^th of the second set of the match.