After winning in the first round on Sunday, Aryna Sabalenka initially believed the sarcastic booing and whistles from the French Open audience were directed at her. But the criticism was instead directed at Marta Kostyuk, her rival, for declining to shake hands at the net after the match as per traditions.
After the match, Kostyuk, who hails from Ukraine, avoided even making eye contact with Sabalenka, who hails from Belarus, instead approached the chair umpire and gave him a nod. Sabalenka moved towards the net as though anticipating a conversation. But ever since her nation was invaded by Russia in February 2022 with the assistance of Belarus, Kostyuk has done this every time she has played any opponent from Russia or Belarus.
Talking about the match, Sabalenka was at her dominant best as she won six games in a row and took a 6-3, 6-2 victory. The players did not stand together even for the customary pictures up at the net following the coin toss to decide who would serve first on Day 1 of the clay-court competition
Watch the video here:
Sabalenka was questioned about the chance that there wouldn't be a handshake on Sunday during her pre-tournament news conference on Friday. To which the Belarusian responded, “ If she hates me, OK. I can't do anything about that. There are going to be people who love me; there are going to be people who hate me," Sabalenka said then. "If she hates me, I don't feel anything like that [toward] her."