Arina Sobolenko may face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in Saturday's Wimbledon final. Photo: AP/Alberto Pezzali
Arina Sabalenka urged the crowd to stop booing Russian and Belarusian players, but Wimbledon refused to follow other authorities calling on spectators to keep quiet.
She will face Ons Jaber in the second semi-final and said, hopes for reception The crowd at Wimbledon will improve after the Women's Tennis Association addressed the “misunderstanding” of the Ukrainian handshake that drew criticism from Belarusian compatriot Victoria Azarenka on Sunday.
The WTA responded to Svitolina's calls to clarify why Ukrainian players will not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian rivals, given Vladimir Putin's war.
The WTA said: “Due to the ongoing reprehensible war, the WTA respects the position of Ukrainian athletes who are abandoning the tradition of shaking hands with opponents [from Russia and Belarus] at the end of the match, as this is a personal decision.”
This the announcement was warmly welcomed by Belarusian compatriot Azarenka Sabalenka, who will take on sixth-place finisher Ons Jaber in the last four matches after a convincing 6-2, 6-4 win over Madison Keys on Wednesday. on her side.
“They made this statement and it’s really good,” Sobolenko said. “I think people should also know what is happening and why there is no handshake between Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian players. I mean, it's good to have this statement. I really hope that no one else will face such a reaction from the crowd.
Sabolenko had previously clashed with a Ukrainian journalist over her alleged support for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. In a photo published by various news channels last month, she appears to be hugging a key Kremlin ally.
“Russians have social media platforms they don't use”
In an interview with Telegraph Sport, retired Ukrainian player Sergei Stakhovsky, who retired from playing last year to join the Ukrainian army, suggested that Belarusians could do more to oppose Vladimir Putin's war. “There is a lot of negativity towards players from Belarus,” Stakhovsky said. “You can see their position, they have social media platforms that they don't use to stop this war.”
Regarding the suggestion that it is not safe for Russian and Belarusian players to criticize their governments. , Stakhovsky replied: “16 months have passed, they could take their whole family out, they could live in any country in the world, it’s not safe to be in any city in Ukraine, yesterday there were more missile attacks, you don’t know when this will happen and who will be killed.”< /p>Promo in the article: interview with Stakhovsky
Russian Daniil Medvedev did his best to draw a crowd behind him against the popular American Christopher Eubanks on the first court. With the score 3-1 in the second set, the Russian beat Eubanks with a standout winner and called on the crowd to cheer for him on his way to a five-set victory.
Meanwhile, Azarenka walked off Court One to a deafening hoot on Sunday night after how she greeted Svitolina by raising her racket, instead of meeting her at the net after the match.
Victoria Azarenka was booed after losing to Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. Photo: Daily Telegraph/Heathcliff O'Malley
Svitolina said tennis authorities should take steps to let the crowd know about Ukrainian players' refusal to shake hands, but Sally Bolton, the championship's chief executive, suggested there was no need to dictate how spectators should behave. “I think we have an incredibly knowledgeable audience at Wimbledon and I think for the most part they will understand what's going on,” she said. “I wouldn't want to speculate on what everyone in the crowd thought.”
Sabalenko, who was suspended for last year's tournament along with the Russian players, is catching up and was too strong for Klyuchi on Wednesday. Since Iga Swiatek knocked out on Tuesday, she will now be looking at the Venus Rosewater plate after booking her second semi-final performance in SW19.
Sobalenko added: “It's really amazing to be back in the semi-finals, I can't wait to play my second semi-final at Wimbledon and hopefully I can do better than last time.
“It was a really tough game, I was so happy to win the second set, that game at 2-4 0- 40 was just unbelievable.
“Since childhood, I dreamed of the Wimbledon title, this is something special, Wimbledon is different, it is special. No matter who I play, it will be an uphill battle.”
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