Canadian Open star from Belarus 'fed up' of answering questions about Ukrainian rivals
Victoria Azarenka hit out at the constant chat about Ukrainian and Belarusian players. The former world No 1 was booed at Wimbledon when she respected her opponent's decision not to shake hands.
Victoria Azarenka has hit back after she was once again quizzed over the challenges of facing her Ukrainian colleagues. The former world No 1 was booed off court when she respected Elina Svitolina’s wish not to shake hands at Wimbledon. When they had a rematch in Washington last week, the crowd were informed that there would be no handshake but Azarenka said she was sick of the questions.
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Russian and Belarusian players have been competing as neutral athletes on the tennis tours since last March, though their Ukrainian colleagues have continued to refuse to shake their hands. The move has often seen players booed by spectators who are unaware of the reason for the handshake snub.
And Azarenka was one of the latest players to be jeered for this reason. After losing to Svitolina at Wimbledon, she was booed while leaving the court and banged her fists together above her head in response. Both players later said crowds should be made aware of the circumstances - something that happened in Washington last week when the two faced off again.
While the pre-match announcement proved to be a good solution, the Belarusian said she was fed up of fielding questions about the issue. “I am very tired of talking about all this,” the two-time Grand Slam champion said earlier this week at the Canadian Open.
At the time, the 34-year-old faced the prospect of a showdown with Anhelina Kalinina in the second round though the Ukrainian went on to lose her opening match. Azarenka continued: “I hope that maybe the real message is that we stop talking about this.
“If I will face Kalinina, I don't know. I shook hands with her when we played in Adelaide this year.” The world No 19 knew that was no longer likely to happen and clarified that she understood why, even though she didn’t want to keep discussing the matter.
“No I know. I feel that the message is very clear, that it is a personal choice of the Ukrainian athletes. It is not a common practice. It is not something that I would do, but I am not in a position to judge,” she added.
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“I respect the decision of another person, but I do not I think this is standard procedure in the sport. And as I've said I don't know how many times, I will respect and accept the decision of another player.”
The situation was avoided when Sloane Stephens beat Kalinina to set up a clash with Azarenka. But the Belarusian was forced to pull out of the Canadian Open ahead of their match when she picked up an injury in practice.
