The Facts
On Sunday, Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka was loudly booed off the court after her three-set, fourth-round loss to Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon.
After winning the match, Svitolina declined to shake hands with Azarenka, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine — a move that aligns with a decision made by players in the Ukrainian Tennis Federation to not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players as long as the war continues.
The Spin
Narrative A
While there’s no telling how Russian and Belarusian players feel about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the players who are competing have done nothing wrong and don’t deserve to be booed over the decision of Ukrainians to take a political stand. Something must be done beforehand to let the crowd know there won’t be a handshake because of the politics involved so players will be treated with respect.
Narrative B
Players and fans alike make their own decisions on how to react to the conclusion of a match and anything that takes place after it. Most fans are respectful of the players, and it’s not up to Wimbledon to attempt to regulate the organic reaction of the crowd or the players.
