Mirra Andreeva shows respect to Elina Svitolina amid ‘handshake ban’ after thumping win at Indian Wells

Russia’s Mirra Andreeva showed respect towards Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina after their recent clash at the Indian Wells. The contest was a much-anticipated one, largely because of the 30-year-old’s stance about banning Russian athletes because of the ongoing armed conflict between the two neighbouring countries since 2022, which has resulted in hundreds of people losing their lives on both sides.

In the quarterfinal contest, Andreeva came out on top in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3. After the match, both players did not shake hands but the 17-year-old, who is already regarded as the one for the future, applauded for her opponent. Talking ahead of the match, Andreeva stated that she was not focusing on the conflict as he focus was to ensure that she would do all the right things.

"Yeah, of course it's not easy, but I have played maybe... I don't know, four or five matches against Ukrainian players. And, I just try not to think about it,” she said before the contest. I just try to focus on my game, to do my routines, to prepare myself that it's not going to be easy.”

Talking after the match, the Krasnoyarsk-born star stated that the win does not give her any advantage against her next opponent, which will be world number two Iga Swiatek, against whom she won in the last meeting.

"It doesn't give me any benefit to our match tomorrow, because what happened happened, and the past is in the past," she said. "Tomorrow is going to be a new day, new match, new conditions, new country. Everything is different. I'm going to try my best to prepare in the best way for our match tomorrow, and I'm sure that the match is going to be great, because our head-to-head is 1-All. I think it's going to be an entertaining match, and we're just going to see who is going to be better tomorrow."