Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk was met with loud boos at a match in France for refusing to shake the hand of Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka because of Belarus’ support of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kostyuk, 20, refused to make eye contact with Sabalenka, 25, and purposefully snubbed her after she lost her match at the French Open on Sunday, according to the Daily Mail.
After the match, Kostyuk (wearing dark blue) shook the line judge’s hand but then turned away from Sabalenka (in the white and pink outfit).
The snub brought boos from spectators in the stands at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.
🎾Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostiuk refused to shake hands with her opponent after her match with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the first round of the #FrenchOpen. Part of the audience greeted the act with applause, and part of them booed, Tribuna reported. pic.twitter.com/Fl74hqq8nw
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) May 28, 2023
Sabalenka won the match 6-3 6-2.
This was no spur-of-the-moment snub, either. Kostyuk has openly refused to recognize any Russian or Belarusian player, refusing to engage with them or shake their hands in the traditional post-match greeting since Russian forces launched a brutal invasion of neighboring Ukraine last year.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine shakes hands with the umpire before avoiding shaking hands with Aryna Sabalenka as she looks on after their Women’s Singles First Round Match on Day One of the at Roland Garros on May 28, 2023, in Paris, France. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
While Belarus has not supplied troops to Putin’s invasion, it has allowed Russia to use its territory to stage Russian troops. He has openly given his approval of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko recently said that Russia had moved its tactical nuclear bombs into Belarus to have them close at hand for use in Ukraine if Putin gives the nod.
After the match, Sabalenka claimed she did not support Putin’s war.
“About the war situation, I said it many, many times, nobody in this world – Russian athletes, Belarusian athletes – supports the war. Nobody. How can we support the war? Normal people will never support it,” CNN reported. “Of course we don’t support war. And if you could affect the war in any way, if we could stop it, we would do it, but unfortunately it’s not in our hands.”
Still, Sabalenka added that she fully understood why Kostyuk would not shake her hand and scolded the crowd for booing.
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