French Open 2023 results: Elina Svitolina booed after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in Paris
By Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport at Roland Garros
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, who has not shaken hands with Russian opponents, was booed after walking past Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka when she waited at the net
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina accused Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka of encouraging French Open fans to boo her by waiting at the net for a handshake following their tense quarter-final.
Svitolina has not shaken hands with Russian opponents since Ukraine was invaded with support from Belarus.
Before her loss to Sabalenka, Svitolina made clear she would again avoid it.
Asked if Sabalenka inflamed the boos with her actions, Svitolina said: "I think so, unfortunately."
Sabalenka responded by saying her reaction was "an instinct".
It was a sour end to 28-year-old Svitolina's dream run at Roland Garros as Sabalenka, seeded second, kept focus to reach the semi-finals.
Svitolina, playing in her first Grand Slam since giving birth in October, lost 6-4 6-4 on the Paris clay.
"I don't know what she was waiting for, because my statements were clear enough about the handshake," Svitolina said.
On the booing, she added: "It was quite expected. Whoever in this situation loses, I guess gets booed. It was not a surprise for me."
There was a tense atmosphere in a quarter-final between two women whose nations are on opposing sides of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Sabalenka, 25, underlined why she is one of the favourites for the title and will play Karolina Muchova in the last four.
The unseeded Czech reached her first French Open semi-final with a straight-set victory over former finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/658200 ... rter-final.
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