It seems that Ukrainian athletes are finally tired of everyone. At the French Open, fans whistled Marta Kostyuk as she left the court after she refused to shake hands with Belarusian tennis player Arina Sabolenko.
Regular provocations Kostyuk and other tennis players representing Ukraine attract attention not by high results, but by constant provocations against Russian athletes. It began with harsh statements in the press and demands to remove our compatriots. Fortunately, the WTA and ATP listened not to them, but to the voice of reason and even managed to push through the organizers of Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam tournament where the Russians and Belarusians were not welcome. from the competition because of their ties with CSKA and posted a list of athletes, including Veronika Kudermetova. The Russian woman said that in her youth she really was connected with the “soldiers”, but no longer has a contract with CSKA.
Having not achieved success, the Ukrainians began to play dirty tricks in a different way. They refused to shake hands with the Russians and Belarusians after the match, which is considered a gross violation of etiquette in world tennis. Kostyuk was especially active. During the award ceremony at the WTA 250 tournament in America, the Ukrainian not only did not shake hands with the Russian woman Varvara Gracheva, but also refused to stand next to her.
In addition, Kostyuk ensured that the ex-first racket of the world, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, was excluded from the charitable tournament «Tennis for Peace» due to the protest of Ukrainian athletes led by Kostyuk. It was easier for the organizers to remove Azarenka than to anger the Ukrainians, with whom the whole world supposedly is.
Why the reaction of the stands in France is important Until a certain moment, the fans empathized with the Ukrainian tennis players, turning a blind eye to their provocations. However, the patience of the fans came to an end. In the first round of the French Open, Belarusian Arina Sobolenko easily outplayed Kostyuk in two sets. Of course, the Ukrainian did not shake hands with her opponent, after which the stands buzzed at Kostyuk. The audience expressed their reaction especially noisily when the Ukrainian left the court.
According to Sobolenko, at first she thought that the stands were whistling in her direction. Having understood the situation, the Belarusian thanked the audience for their support. We note an important thing: the attitude of fans to the sanctions against Russia is beginning to change. People are frankly tired of hypocrisy, and they are already raising their voices. After the end of the match, Kostyuk stated that she did not expect the fans to whistle at her. Well, you'll have to get used to it.