"Convinced rich people in the stands don't watch tennis regularly": Tennis fans side with Azarenka after being booed out of Wimbledon
WTA
Victoria Azarenka saw a sour end to her epic against Elina Svitolina which she narrowly lost to the Ukrainian 6-2, 4-6, 6-7(9) at Wimbledon in the Last 16 as she was booed out of the tournament by sections of Court One.
This after Azarenka respected the wishes of Svitolina and did not attempt to shake her hand.
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Ukrainian players have stated that they will not shake hands with players from Russia and Belarus.
In particular, Svitolina has been a main spokesperson for the views held by Ukrainian players as well as Marta Kostyuk and Lesia Tsurenko who all made new ground by reaching the third round.
In a show of respect, Azarenka did not force it however they expressed their discontent by booing which didn't sit well with many including tennis fans on social media who lamented the lack of understanding as well as the abuse as a result suffered for Azarenka.
"I am convinced the rich people in the stands don’t watch tennis regularly," a fan tweeted.
"Booing Azarenka was classless. Utterly vulgar behaviour," another fan tweeted.
"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."
While presenter Marcus Buckland also said that it needs to be clear as to there being no handshake. "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."
Another fan tweeted: "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."
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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