Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Ostapenko is a match which is often must watch if you're a fan of the multiple Grand Slam champion in particular who holds an incredible record against the Latvian and extended that on Wednesday night at the Qatar Open.
But as well as the manner of the win, it was the post match handshake or lack there of that also produced heavy reaction on social media from tennis fans. Azarenka after sealing the win pointed at her head like she was signalling that she is in the mind of Ostapenko and at the net, the former Roland Garros champion put out her racquet instead of attempting a handshake.
Azarenka like Ostapenko isn't one to shy away from showing how she feels and she walked past her at the net not amused at all. This garnered a lot of tennis fans applauding Azarenka, but also hitting out at Ostapenko not offering a handshake in the first place.
"Vika's reaction at the end is pure gold. She ain't got time for this sh*t lol," a fan posted on X (formerly Twitter).
"Rude from Ostapenko to not shake Azarenka's hand. She only acts nice when she wins, sore loser. She's Azarenka's punching bag" another posted.
Another also said: "Vika like I've already got one child at home. Not dealing with another one." Azarenka will be back in action on Thursday night when she faces World No.1, Iga Swiatek for a spot in the semi-finals.
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.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
This was so disrespectful to Vika who did absolutely nothing wrong but beat Penko AGAIN. Like tired of Vika having all this no-handshakes with the Ukrainian players last few months and now this. But Ostapenko is apparently funny so we are supposed to just 'lol' at this.
Never seen Sabalenka acting cold at the net when she loses, always graceful. No wonder she has no retirement in her tennis career. And then you have Ostapenko, a sore loser, only nice when she wins; zero sportsmanship when things don't go her way.
wta
@WTA
1⃣5⃣0⃣ hard court wins 👏
@vika7 defeats Ostapenko in straight sets 6-0, 6-3 and will face Swiatek in the quarterfinals.
#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen