Wimbledon is staying out of the politics of handshakes.
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine had urged tennis authorities to publicize that Ukrainians won’t be shaking hands with Russian and Belarusian players after matches — so that fans don’t boo because they think some players are being snubbed.
“We’ve no intention of doing that,” Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton said Monday.
Fans on No. 1 Court booed Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka after she didn’t go to the net to shake hands with Svitolina after the Ukrainian player’s victory on Sunday.
Azarenka knew that Svitolina doesn’t shake hands with Russians and Belarusians — in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and instead waved to her. She later said she was trying to be “respectful towards her decision.”
Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus echoed Svitolina’s call for an announcement “so players will not leave court with so much hate. … It would be good for the crowd to actually know what’s going on. There is a reason behind no handshake.”
