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Victoria Azarenka’s run at Wimbledon came to an end on Sunday after she lost in a three-set tiebreaker to Elina Svitolina 6-2. 4-6, 6-7 (11). However, the fireworks came right after the match was decided.
Azarenka, from Belarus, walked straight to the chair umpire after the match knowing that Svitolina, who is from Ukraine, had not shaken hands with Belarusian or Russian players after her matches. So, as Azarenka gathered her gear up to walk off the court, fans booed her.
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Victoria Azarenka leaves the court after losing to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in a women's singles match on day seven of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
"I can’t control the crowd. I’m not sure that a lot of people were understanding what’s happening," Azarenka said. "It wasn’t fair. It is what it is. What can I do?"
It was not clear what the fans thought was happening, but Azarenka shook her head and banged her hands or fists over her head. She said she has always had a good relationship with Svitolina.
"But what can I say about the crowd? There is nothing to say," she added. "She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people. I respected her decision. What should I have done? Stayed and waited? Like, I mean, there’s no thing that I could do that would have been right, so I just did what I thought was respectful towards her decision."
WIMBLEDON UMPIRE GENTLY REMINDS FANS TO REFRAIN FROM POPPING CHAMPAGNE DURING PLAY
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina celebrates winning the second set during the women's singles match against Victoria Azarenka on day seven of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Svitolina said the onus should be on the tennis organizations to explain there would be no handshaking between Ukrainian players and those from Belarus and Russia.
"For me personally, I think the tennis organizations, they have to come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian players," she said.
"I don’t know if it’s maybe not clear for people. Some people not really know what is happening. So I think this is the right way to do."
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina celebrates defeating Victoria Azarenka in the women's singles match on day seven of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
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In any case, Svitolina will play No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.