Aryna Sabalenka kicked off her 2023 Roland Garros campaign with a win over Marta Kostyuk and after the match she adressed some burning questions.
Sabalenka and Kostyuk contested a really good match with the former emerging victorious in the match. She had some issues in the first few games but after that, Sabalenka took over the match outplaying her opponent fairly easily in two sets. There was no handshake after the match and Sabalenka addressed it after the match.
Ukrainian tennis players have not been shaking hands with players from Russia and Belarus for a while. It was something that Sabalenka has been aware of before the match and she wasn't stunned that it didn't happen after the match. When asked about it after the match, the world number two said:
“At first, I thought it was against me. But they gave me a lot of support, so it wasn’t for me. I understand the no handshake, but I believe sports shouldn’t be in politics. Whatever, if they feel better like that, I’m happy with it”
Aryna Sabalenka on crowd booing Marta Kostyuk: “At first, I thought it was against me. But they gave me a lot of support, so it wasn’t for me. I understand the no handshake, but I believe sports shouldn’t be in politics. Whatever, if they feel better like that, I’m happy with it”
