Sports

Belarusian Booed After Wimbledon Loss to Ukrainian

JUL 10 2023·Updated JUL 11 2023

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The Facts

On Sunday, Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka was loudly booed off the court after her three-set, fourth-round loss to Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon.
Evening Standard
After winning the match, Svitolina declined to shake hands with Azarenka, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine — a move that aligns with a decision made by players in the Ukrainian Tennis Federation to not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players as long as the war continues.
The Globe and Mail
After the final point, Azarenka went to the net and showed Svitolina her appreciation with a hand gesture instead of a handshake.
CNN
As she left the court, Azarenka shook her head and made a gesture with her hands above her head in response to the boos.
CNN
Svitolina, who last month was booed by the French Open crowd for not shaking hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka following a quarterfinal defeat, has called for tennis organizations to inform spectators about the Ukrainian players’ decision to not shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players.
BBC News
This is the first year Russian and Belarusian players have been allowed to play Wimbledon after the tournament banned them last season. They are competing as neutral athletes this year.
Independent

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

While there’s no telling how Russian and Belarusian players feel about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the players who are competing have done nothing wrong and don’t deserve to be booed over the decision of Ukrainians to take a political stand. Something must be done beforehand to let the crowd know there won’t be a handshake because of the politics involved so players will be treated with respect.

wapo

Narrative B

Players and fans alike make their own decisions on how to react to the conclusion of a match and anything that takes place after it. Most fans are respectful of the players, and it’s not up to Wimbledon to attempt to regulate the organic reaction of the crowd or the players.