July 10, (THEWILL) – Wimbledon chiefs stated on Monday, that they had no plans to issue a statement regarding the incident involving Victoria Azarenka being booed off the court after her defeat by Elina Svitolina.
THEWILL recalls that Svitolina did not shake hands with Azarenka in protest over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, Azarenka’s home country, is a key military ally of Russia. Azarenka left the court to a chorus of boos from some sections of the crowd, despite making a gesture of respect towards Svitolina. She and other Ukrainian players had previously refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian rivals at the French Open, and she called on the sport’s governing bodies to clarify the position of Ukrainian players.
However, the All England Club Chief Executive, Sally Bolton, stated: “Historically in tennis, the decision on how a player reacts at the end of a match is entirely a personal decision for them and I think we don’t really want to start mandating what happens. I think we have an incredibly knowledgeable audience at Wimbledon and I think, for most part, they would understand what was happening.”
Bolton also emphasised that it is impossible to control the crowd’s reactions and urged for the focus to remain on the tennis matches. She acknowledged that there could be five players representing Russia or Belarus in the quarterfinals, a year after the All England Club banned athletes from these two nations.
When asked about handing the trophy to a player from Russia or Belarus, Bolton stated that the decision to admit Russian and Belarusian players was made carefully earlier in the year, and the tournament organisers are comfortable with whichever way it plays out.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
