"Convinced rich people in the stands don't watch tennis regularly" - Victoria Azarenka being booed out of Wimbledon disappoints tennis fans

Tennis fans were disappointed as Victoria Azarenka was booed out of Wimbledon following her defeat at the hands of Elina Svitolina in the fourth round.Svitolina defeated Azarenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(9) after an intense battle lasting two hours and 46 minutes. The Ukrainian staged a thrilling comeback and won the match by the slimmest of margins to secure her spot in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second time in her career.Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Ukrainian players have consistently voiced their unease about competing against players from Russia and Belarus. Elina Svitolina, in particular, has been outspoken on this matter and has steadfastly refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players.In a show of respect for Svitolina's decision, Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, at the conclusion of their match, raised her hand towards the Ukrainian player. She then proceeded to shake hands with the chair umpire.The spectators at the All England Lawn Tennis &amp; Croquet Club, however, were not pleased with Azarenka's behavior. They expressed their discontent by booing her intensely as she left the court.Tennis fans took to social media to criticize the spectators for booing Azarenka and for their lack of understanding regarding her decision not to shake Svitolina's hands.Amidst voicing their dissatisfaction with the crowd's demeanor at Wimbledon, one fan proclaimed that the privileged individuals occupying the stands are not avid followers of tennis.&quot;I am convinced the rich people in the stands don’t watch tennis regularly,&quot; a fan tweeted.🎾nebby🎾@1gamesetmatch@TheTennisLetter I am convinced the rich people in the stands don’t watch tennis regularly3@TheTennisLetter I am convinced the rich people in the stands don’t watch tennis regularlyAnother fan expressed their disapproval, stating that booing Victoria Azarenka was a display of poor sportsmanship and completely uncivilized behavior.&quot;Booing Azarenka was classless. Utterly vulgar behaviour,&quot; the fan tweeted.QueenMaureen💚🤍💜@QueenMaureenGC@TheTennisLetter Booing Azarenka was classless. Utterly vulgar behaviour.40@TheTennisLetter Booing Azarenka was classless. Utterly vulgar behaviour.Here are a few more reactions:Penny smart@ps96_p@TheTennisLetter Absolutely right. Terrible behaviour by the crowd. It was an excellent match and both should have been applauded.4@TheTennisLetter Absolutely right. Terrible behaviour by the crowd. It was an excellent match and both should have been applauded.Rob Castille@robcastille@TheTennisLetter 100% agree. Elina has made her decision clear. Everyone knew, regardless of the outcome, she wouldn’t shake hands (and I respect that decision). I think Vika handled it very well with her hand up to say “good match.” Def shouldn’t have been booed.2@TheTennisLetter 100% agree. Elina has made her decision clear. Everyone knew, regardless of the outcome, she wouldn’t shake hands (and I respect that decision). I think Vika handled it very well with her hand up to say “good match.” Def shouldn’t have been booed.Vansh@vanshv2kCompletely unfortunate for the crowd to boo Azarenka like that. She was very classy about the No-handshake much like Kasatkina was at RG. She did not deserve that treatment at all. twitter.com/lawanda50/stat…1625Completely unfortunate for the crowd to boo Azarenka like that. She was very classy about the No-handshake much like Kasatkina was at RG. She did not deserve that treatment at all. twitter.com/lawanda50/stat…Marcus Buckland@marcus_bucklandThe lack of communication between the sport and the public over this issue HAS to be addressed. Why doesn’t the umpire explain at the start of the match why there won’t be a handshake. Not fair on Azarenka here twitter.com/eleanorcrooksp…Eleanor Crooks@EleanorcrooksPAWow, Azarenka leaves the court to huge boos. Stops and stares at the crowd before banging her fists together. Do they think she didn't shake hands with Svitolina? Maybe. She put up a hand in acknowledgement. Nothing from Svitolina.1805Wow, Azarenka leaves the court to huge boos. Stops and stares at the crowd before banging her fists together. Do they think she didn't shake hands with Svitolina? Maybe. She put up a hand in acknowledgement. Nothing from Svitolina.The lack of communication between the sport and the public over this issue HAS to be addressed. Why doesn’t the umpire explain at the start of the match why there won’t be a handshake. Not fair on Azarenka here twitter.com/eleanorcrooksp…Cerys@CerysRBHonestly wft. Azarenka didn't deserve that, it was such a high quality match and she was respecting Svitolina's views at the end. Bonkers twitter.com/EleanorcrooksP…Eleanor Crooks@EleanorcrooksPAWow, Azarenka leaves the court to huge boos. Stops and stares at the crowd before banging her fists together. Do they think she didn't shake hands with Svitolina? Maybe. She put up a hand in acknowledgement. Nothing from Svitolina.346Wow, Azarenka leaves the court to huge boos. Stops and stares at the crowd before banging her fists together. Do they think she didn't shake hands with Svitolina? Maybe. She put up a hand in acknowledgement. Nothing from Svitolina.Honestly wft. Azarenka didn't deserve that, it was such a high quality match and she was respecting Svitolina's views at the end. Bonkers twitter.com/EleanorcrooksP…Kat Kennedy@katbiglife@TennisPodcast I was there. Really bad that Azarenka didn’t get acknowledged in the on court interview. She was just respecting svitolina’s wishes and the crowd obviously didn’t all know - really sad after such an incredible match from both players121@TennisPodcast I was there. Really bad that Azarenka didn’t get acknowledged in the on court interview. She was just respecting svitolina’s wishes and the crowd obviously didn’t all know - really sad after such an incredible match from both playersRhys Knott@wrhys_writesI'm constantly embarrassed about how British people have forgotten to behave in the last 3 years 🫣But booing millionaire athletes with more talent in their little fingers than the crowd have collectively will never not be hilarious to me. Showing your full arse there lads 🫠 twitter.com/EleanorcrooksP…Eleanor Crooks@EleanorcrooksPAWow, Azarenka leaves the court to huge boos. Stops and stares at the crowd before banging her fists together. Do they think she didn't shake hands with Svitolina? Maybe. She put up a hand in acknowledgement. Nothing from Svitolina.72246Wow, Azarenka leaves the court to huge boos. Stops and stares at the crowd before banging her fists together. Do they think she didn't shake hands with Svitolina? Maybe. She put up a hand in acknowledgement. Nothing from Svitolina.I'm constantly embarrassed about how British people have forgotten to behave in the last 3 years 🫣But booing millionaire athletes with more talent in their little fingers than the crowd have collectively will never not be hilarious to me. Showing your full arse there lads 🫠 twitter.com/EleanorcrooksP…Genelle Aldred@genellealdredDidn't like that AT ALL, Svitolina made it clear she wouldn't shake hands and so Azarenka did the decent thing and didn't go to the net to wait for it. Bad form from the crowd. Especially after that amazing match. twitter.com/TennisPodcast/…The Tennis Podcast@TennisPodcastUnbelievably, after that incredible match, Azarenka got booed as she left the court - presumably because of the lack of handshake, although the two players acknowledged each other.Don't be Paris, Wimbledon. Please.42Unbelievably, after that incredible match, Azarenka got booed as she left the court - presumably because of the lack of handshake, although the two players acknowledged each other.Don't be Paris, Wimbledon. Please.Didn't like that AT ALL, Svitolina made it clear she wouldn't shake hands and so Azarenka did the decent thing and didn't go to the net to wait for it. Bad form from the crowd. Especially after that amazing match. twitter.com/TennisPodcast/…Vipul@Sporty_BabaOf all the slams, you would expect crowd at Wimbledon to be a lot more informed.twitter.com/josemorgado/st…José Morgado@josemorgadoAzarenka DIDN'T like to get booed out of Court 1...139434Azarenka DIDN'T like to get booed out of Court 1...Of all the slams, you would expect crowd at Wimbledon to be a lot more informed.twitter.com/josemorgado/st…Hanya ♡@HanyaElGhetanyLack of handshake isnt even vika’s choice? Dumb dumb twitter.com/tennispodcast/…The Tennis Podcast@TennisPodcastUnbelievably, after that incredible match, Azarenka got booed as she left the court - presumably because of the lack of handshake, although the two players acknowledged each other.Don't be Paris, Wimbledon. Please.1122Unbelievably, after that incredible match, Azarenka got booed as she left the court - presumably because of the lack of handshake, although the two players acknowledged each other.Don't be Paris, Wimbledon. Please.Lack of handshake isnt even vika’s choice? Dumb dumb twitter.com/tennispodcast/…Kirsty Palmer@KirstyAPalmerThe crowd were out of order on this. Perhaps unaware that they weren’t ever going to shake hands? twitter.com/tennispodcast/…The Tennis Podcast@TennisPodcastUnbelievably, after that incredible match, Azarenka got booed as she left the court - presumably because of the lack of handshake, although the two players acknowledged each other.Don't be Paris, Wimbledon. Please.2122Unbelievably, after that incredible match, Azarenka got booed as she left the court - presumably because of the lack of handshake, although the two players acknowledged each other.Don't be Paris, Wimbledon. Please.The crowd were out of order on this. Perhaps unaware that they weren’t ever going to shake hands? twitter.com/tennispodcast/…&quot;I can't control the crowd&quot; - Victoria Azarenka about the spectators booing herVictoria Azarenka at the 2023 Wimbledon ChampionshipsDuring a post-match press conference following her defeat against Elina Svitolina, Victoria Azarenka addressed the issue of the crowd booing her. Azarenka stated that she has no control over their behavior and that many individuals in the audience were not empathetic towards the circumstances.The Belarusian attributed the crowd's unruly conduct to the excessive consumption of Pimm's throughout the day.&quot;I can't control the crowd. I'm not sure that a lot of people were understanding what's happening, so... It's probably been a lot of pimps -- Pimm's throughout the day,&quot; Azarenka said.The former World No. 1 further said she respected Elina Svitolina's decision of not wanting to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players. She acknowledged that there was no perfect course of action in this situation, before asserting that she chose to act in a manner she believed was respectful towards the Ukrainian's decision.&quot;She doesn't want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people. I respected her decision. What should I have done? Stayed and waited? Like, I mean, there's no thing that I could do that would have been right, so I just did what I thought was respectful towards her decision,&quot; Victoria Azarenka added.Elina Svitolina will next face Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday.

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