cnn
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Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina said she was not sure why her Belarusian opponent Aryna Sabalenka waited at the net for a handshake after their match at the French Open.
With the war in her home country ongoing, Svitolina has refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players since returning to tennis following the birth of her first child last year.
But Sabalenka, who advanced to the Roland Garros semifinals with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on Tuesday, waited at the net to recognize Svitolina.
“I don't know, to be fair, what I was expecting. [for]because my statements were quite clear about the handshake,” the former world number 3 told reporters.
He added: “My initial reaction, I don't know, was like, what are you doing? Because yes, throughout my press conference I make my position clear. So I do not know”.
Sabalenka faced a similar scenario against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the first round of the French Open, when her opponent also left the court without a handshake.
After her third and fourth round matches, Sabalenka stopped participating in the usual post-match press conferences, saying she didn't feel safe when she attended one last Wednesday.
However, he attended a regular press conference after the quarterfinals and said he waited at the net out of “instinct.”
The world number 2 also reiterated her stance against the war in Ukraine and said that she has always respected the format of press conferences.
“I'm always open in my answers,” Sabalenka told reporters. “I really felt bad for not coming here. I could not sleep. Since all those bad feelings were in my head, I couldn't fall asleep.
“I felt very bad for not coming here. I really respect all of you. Thank you very much for coming here, for taking an interest in me.”
Asked if Sabalenka had exacerbated the handshake situation by waiting at the net, Svitolina said: “Yes, I think so, unfortunately.”
Despite her time away from tennis, Svitolina, 28, enjoyed a good run at the French Open after winning her 17th WTA title in Strasbourg before the tournament.
She managed to go toe-to-toe with Sabalenka on Court Philippe-Chatrier for much of the first set and broke early in the second set as she looked to make a comeback.
But Sabalenka's power play from the baseline finally overwhelmed Svitolina as she earned two breaks of serve to win in straight sets.
The Australian Open champion finished the match with 30 winners to Svitolina's seven and next Thursday she will face Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic for a place in the French Open final.
