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Ukrainian tennis star Lesia Tsurenko refused to shake hands with Russian Daria Kasatkina following her third-round loss at the Madrid Open. The Russian number one won 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday, when the Spanish capital was Tsurenko’s touching gesture.
After the win, Kasatkina stayed close to her opponent’s chair when they met after the match. However, Tsurenko failed to shake the Russian’s hand when given the wave, before responding by acknowledging the gesture and moving on quickly as she exited Arantxa Sanchez’s court.
Eight women and six men from Russia and Belarus advanced to the next round of the Madrid Open, and the previously outspoken Tsurenko did not answer questions after her match. He has previously stated that his greatest wish in life was for the war to end” and labeled it a full-blown nightmare.
More than a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian players can now compete at Wimbledon – after a blanket ban last year. Their status in tennis is clear, with Kasatkina ranked No. 8 in the world, although she admitted she understood why her opponent refused to shake hands at the end of the match.
The saddest thing is that the war is still going on, so of course the Ukrainian players, Kasatkina said. They have many reasons not to shake our hands and I accept that. It’s a very sad situation. I understand them and was really glad he waved me back.
Kasatkina has signed her neutrality declaration, which is required to compete at Wimbledon in July, and was more than happy to support a tournament policy that guarantees Ukrainian players preferential treatment at SW19 with practice facilities and free hotel rooms.
I’m happy [sign the declaration], Kasatkina added. I was very sad when I missed Wimbledon last year, although it was for a reason, but it was still painful.
“To be honest, we are the luckiest sport [to be Russian] because we can still compete because 95 percent of Russian athletes don’t get to go outside in international events. We really appreciate this opportunity to be on the international stage.
Most of their players can’t go back to their training base, they can’t go home, so it makes a lot of sense to give them the opportunity to train in London. They always have to be on the road and pay for their accommodation, so I think that makes a lot of sense.
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Sources 2/ https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/1764763/Tennis-news-Ukraine-Russia-shake-hands-Madrid-Open The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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