Elina Svitolina maintains that she will not shake hands with any Russian or Belarusian players ahead of her match against Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon.

Ukrainian player Svitolina has made it clear that she will continue to uphold the policy of her compatriots by refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents pre or post-match.

The former world No. 3, who returned to tennis this season after giving birth to her first child in October last year, has had a strong run at the SW19 so far.

In her opening match, she defeated five-time Wimbledon champion and tennis legend Venus Williams in straight sets. She then went on to beat Belgium's Elise Mertens in the second round, before defeating another American, Sofia Kenin, in her most recent match 7-6(3), 6-2.

She will now face Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the round of 16. The former world No. 1 is seeded 19th at the tournament, and defeated the 11th seed Daria Kasatkina in her third-round match.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of the match, Svitolina said,

"I have played a couple of players from Belarus and Russia in Strasbourg and Paris as well so nothing new for me. It’s just a big motivation for me to go out there and try even more to win, try to win for my country.”

This comes after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the 28-year-old has shared some of her experience of the war, particularly regarding her 85-year-old grandmother who is unable to flee the country.

However, Svitolina and other Ukrainian players such as Marta Kostyuk were booed a few months ago at the French Open for observing the no-handshake policy. This came after her win against Russian player Daria Kasatkina, who has criticised her country's invasion, and thus the two did share an exchange after the match.

In terms of the grasscourt major, Svitolina said,

"There were lots of misunderstandings in Paris because in Strasbourg everyone understood my position,

"my position is the same, I am not shaking hands with the Russian and Belarusian players and hopefully this will be nothing new for them."

Azarenka, like Kasatkina, has criticised Russia's invasion which is supported by Belarus. In March 2022, she shared her "dismay and great sadness at the events" in Ukraine on social media, before adding "It is hard to witness the violent separation that is currently taking place instead of supporting and finding compassion for each other."

Svitolina and Azarenka will face each other on Sunday, July 9, at around 17:15 CET.