Aryna Sabalenka agrees with assessment terming lack of handshake from Ukrainian players 'disrespectful'

Aryna Sabalenka was embroiled in yet another controversy as she went to the net to exchange pleasantries with Elina Svitolina after their quarterfinal match at the 2023 French Open.

Sabalenka defeated Svitolina 6-4, 6-4 to enter her maiden Roland Garros semifinal. After the completion of the match, the Belarusian went to the net to shake hands with Svitolina. However, the latter has refrained from greeting players from Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. She did so again after this match.

Seeing Sabalenka standing at the net alone, the crowd started booing Svitolina to express their disapproval of her action. This displeasure spilled onto social media as an Instagram user expressed shock at Svitolina's actions. That user also argued that politics should be separated from sports and tennis court is not a political arena.

The comment was written on an official Roland Garros post congratulating Sabalenka on her win. The Belarusian reacted to the comment with a string of red heart emojis, indicating that she agrees with this thought.

"The level of disrespect from Ukrainian players is shocking. This only makes them look bad and sends the wrong message. It’s not a political arena, it’s a tennis arena. Bravo @sabalenka_aryna for Always being a class act and representing the sport well," the fan wrote.

The win against Svitolina meant that Sabalenka has now made the semifinal of all four Grand Slams in her career and has one Major title in her kitty (2023 Australian Open). She will next face Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova, who overcame Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinal.

Aryna Sabalenka says going for handshake with Elina Svitolina was an "instinct"

After the controversy on the court, Aryna Sabalenka clarified why she went to the net to shake hands with Elina Svitolina despite the Ukrainian player's current stand.

The World No. 2 said that her going to the net was an instinctive act as this is a ritual for her after finishing every match.

"I don't know. It just was an instinct like I always do after all my matches," Sabalenka said.

The quarterfinal was not Sabalenka's first encounter against a Ukrainian player at the 2023 French Open, as she faced and defeated Marta Kostyuk in the first round. Just like Svitolina, Kostyuk also refrained from shaking hands with Sabalenka, and just like Svitolina, the French crowd booed the 20-year-old for her action.