The bitterness and acrimony from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spilled onto the tennis courts of the U.S. Open once more Thursday as Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in straight units, 6-2, 6-3.
Kostyuk, who has been outspoken in her perception that gamers from Russia and Belarus must be barred from the game, refused to shake Azarenka’s hand after her defeat, opting solely to faucet rackets with Azarenka when it was over.
In April, Kostyuk and several other different gamers from Ukraine referred to as for ruling organizations of tennis to ask gamers from Russia and Belarus in the event that they supported the struggle and to denounce it if they didn’t. Within the absence of declarations in opposition to the struggle, Kostyuk and the opposite Ukrainian gamers mentioned the gamers from Russia and Belarus must be barred from any worldwide occasion.
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal, and that point is now,” the assertion from the gamers mentioned.
Talking with journalists at a information convention after the match, Kostyuk defined that she had no real interest in shaking arms with gamers who had not spoken out publicly in opposition to the brutality of the struggle. She additionally criticized gamers from Russia and Belarus for not reaching out to gamers from Ukraine, a number of of whom haven’t been in a position to go residence since Russia invaded their nation in February.
Kostyuk texted Azarenka earlier than the match to inform her she wouldn’t be shaking her hand after the match, however the two didn’t converse beforehand.
It was the second time in two weeks that Kostyuk went after Azarenka, who in years previous made a number of appearances with President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. Final week, Kostyuk pushed officers from the US Tennis Affiliation to ban Azarenka from taking part in an exhibition to learn reduction efforts in Ukraine. On Thursday, she defended these actions, saying it could have been akin to having a German attend a profit for European Jews throughout World Conflict II.
Azarenka had deliberate to take part within the profit till Kostyuk and different gamers from Ukraine protested.
Shortly after Kostyuk spoke Thursday, Azarenka held her personal information convention and defended her actions. She mentioned she had reached out to gamers from Ukraine however had despatched the messages by way of intermediaries with the WTA Tour, which she helps run as a member of its Gamers’ Council.
“I’ve had a really clear message from the start, that I’m right here to attempt to assist, which I’ve carried out rather a lot,” Azarenka mentioned. “Possibly not one thing that individuals see. And that’s not what I do it for. I do it for people who find themselves in want, juniors who want garments, different individuals who want cash or different individuals who wanted transportation or no matter. That’s what’s vital to me, to assist people who find themselves in want.”
Azarenka mentioned if Kostyuk needed to talk along with her, she was “open any time to hear, to attempt to perceive, to sympathize.” She added, “I imagine that empathy within the second like that is actually vital.”
Tensions amongst gamers from the warring international locations have been mounting for months.
Iga Swiatek of Poland, the world No. 1, who has held her personal fund-raiser for reduction efforts in Ukraine and who has condemned the invasion, mentioned the game’s leaders missed a chance to handle these tensions when the struggle first broke out.
“Proper now, it’s form of too late, I believe, to repair that,” Swiatek mentioned Thursday. “Proper now, it’s straightforward to say that possibly there was lack of management, however at the moment I didn’t know what to do both.”
