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Aryna Sabalenka stayed composed to win a politically charged French Open match against Marta Kostyuk on Sunday, May 28. Kostyuk, however, refused to shake hands with the Belarusian at the net, which caused the fans in the arena to boo her.
Sabalenka, the World No. 2 and the reigning 2023 Australian Open champion, defeated Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2. She is looking to advance to the second week in the French capital for the first time in her career.
In protest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kostyuk has vowed not to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players. She stuck true to her word after losing to Sabalenka on Sunday.
But the French crowd's booing of Kostyuk enraged several fans on Twitter, who were quick to express their displeasure. One fan stated that it was "disgusting" for the audience to boo Kostyuk for not shaking hands with Sabalenka. They added that the Belarussian is also to blame because her gestures and body language were "no less disgusting."
"The crowd at Chatrier booing Marta Kostyuk for not shaking hands with a tennis player representing the country which helps another country to destroy Kostyuk’s country is disgusting. Sabalenka, with her gestures and body language, is no less disgusting," a fan said.
Another fan was so saddened by the incident that they expressed their lack of optimism for a change in the state of affairs until the war reached everyone's homes.
"That's the world people want. Be silent, pretend nothing happened, have fun. That's the tennis, WTA wants. It's so sad and honestly I have no hope it'll change. Unless this war will get to their homes and families," a tweet read.
Another user stated that it only took the French Open crowd half a day to start acting like "trash."
"Didn't take the french open crowd even a half day to start acting like trash," another fan expressed.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
"I want to see people react to it in 10 years, they will not feel really nice about what they did" - Marta Kostyuk
Marta Kostyuk addressed the booing by the crowd at a press conference following her loss. She stated that she did not understand why people would do such a thing because she had previously made it very clear that she would not shake hands with any Russian or Belarusian player.
The Ukrainian also stated that she wanted to see how people reacted to the event 10 years from now when the war was over; she believes they will not be pleased with their actions.
"I don't know. I want to see people react to it in ten years when the war is over. I think they will not feel really nice about what they did. I said that I will not do it, and I don't know why people think I'll suddenly change my mind," she said.
When asked if she expected a different reaction from the Wimbledon crowd, Marta Kostyuk replied in the affirmative.
"I'm pretty sure I would because Wimbledon banned them last year, and I think a lot of -- when I was in U.K. last year, the people were reacting to us differently even, like, I don't know, on the street literally. I felt a lot of support, so I'm pretty sure their reaction would be different," she opined.
