"Jelena Ostapenko had the audacity to p*ss her" - Tennis fans react to Elena Rybakina's rare display of annoyance during Italian Open SF handshake

Tennis fans were unhappy about the handshake drama between Jelena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina after their semifinal clash at the 2023 Italian Open. One fan on social media even called Ostapenko a “sore loser” after she was beaten 6-2, 6-4.

Elena Rybakina leveled her head-to-head record with Jelena Ostapenko to 2-2 by winning the rain-delayed encounter on Friday. During the handshake, the Latvian barely clasped Rybakina’s hand and appeared to mumble something.

In response, Rybakina turned to the chair umpire and appeared to complain about something while pointing at her opponent. This was a rare display of emotion from the usually poker-faced 23-year-old.

Tennis fans quickly took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the drama. Some fans claimed that Ostapenko’s actions were not “sportsmanlike.” One fan was particularly bewildered that the Latvian could annoy someone as composed as Rybakina.

"Lol i need to know what was said cause rybakina is literally one of the nicest and rarely shows any emotion on the court but the girl had the audacity to p*ss her," the user wrote.

"What's with the spicy handshakes this clay season...whats in the air?" another fan commented.

"As I said the other day, this tennis season is soooooo (hot emoji)," a fan wrote.

Many fans were curious to know exactly what was said between the two players, and some wished for the net to have better mics.

"Oh my god why can’t they have better mics at the net," wrote one user.

"Why don’t they start pointing a mic at the handshakes already? The handshakes are frequently more entertaining than the matches," another commented.

One user called the Latvian "a child," while another claimed she was "unwatchable" due to her behavior.

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Elena Rybakina follows in the footsteps of Maria Sharapova and Monica Seles

Elena Rybakina is into the final at Rome

Elena Rybakina joined greats like Maria Sharapova and Monica Seles by becoming only the third player in the Open Era to reach the final at Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami and Rome in the same season.

The 23-year-old is set to break into the top 5 of the WTA rankings, and can go up to World No. 4 if she wins the title in Rome. Rybakina has reached one Grand Slam and three WTA 1000 finals this season.

She lost to World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final but avenged that defeat in the Indian Wells final. The reigning Wimbledon champion then reached another final in Miami but was defeated by Petra Kvitova.

Rybakina will face off against first-time finalist Anhelina Kalinina on Saturday.