Revealed: Why Australian Open star Elina Svitolina REFUSED to shake hands with her opponent Veronika Kudermetova in very icy end to match
Australian tennis fans have questioned Elina Svitolina’s actions after the Ukrainian star refused to shake hands with her Australian Open opponent in the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Svitolina continued her inspired run to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time in six years on Monday.
The former world number 3 followed up her third-round elimination of fourth seed Jasmine Paolini with a straight-sets victory over Veronika Kudermetova on Monday.
After trailing 4-1 in the first set, Svitolina took full advantage of an injury to Kudermetova to get past the injured Russian 6-4 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena.
However, the Ukrainian then refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent, instead shaking hands with the chair umpire and then making her way to a broadcast camera to write a message for her supporters.
“The spirit of Ukraine,” Svitolina wrote with a drawing of a heart on the camera.
Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina (left) refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent Veronika Kudermetova at the Australian Open
![Revealed: Why Australian Open star Elina Svitolina REFUSED to shake hands with her opponent Veronika Kudermetova in very icy end to match 1 After her match against the Russian, Svitolina wrote a message of support for the Ukrainian people on a television camera](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Revealed-Why-Australian-Open-star-Elina-Svitolina-REFUSED-to-shake.jpg)
After her match against the Russian, Svitolina wrote a message of support for the Ukrainian people on a television camera
![Revealed: Why Australian Open star Elina Svitolina REFUSED to shake hands with her opponent Veronika Kudermetova in very icy end to match 2 Kudermetova was gracious about the snub and said goodbye to the Melbourne crowd before leaving the arena](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737347500_502_Revealed-Why-Australian-Open-star-Elina-Svitolina-REFUSED-to-shake.jpeg)
Kudermetova was gracious about the snub and said goodbye to the Melbourne crowd before leaving the arena
Svitolina’s criticism fueled the war in Ukraine that has ravaged her home country.
The war in Ukraine began in February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion, a war that continues to this day.
In 2022, tennis players representing Russia and Belarus were banned from Wimbledon. They were also previously forced to compete as individuals in events, including the 2023 Australian Open, without recognition from any flag or country.
Svitolina has taken her own stand, refusing to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian opponents as the war rages.
That included not shaking hands with Belarusian star Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023.
“She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people,” the former WTA No. 1 said at the time.
‘I respected her decision. What should I have done?
“But this conversation about shaking hands is not a life-changing conversation. So if you guys want to keep talking about it, bring it up, make it a big deal, headlines, whatever it is, keep going. I thought it was a great tennis match.’
![Revealed: Why Australian Open star Elina Svitolina REFUSED to shake hands with her opponent Veronika Kudermetova in very icy end to match 3 Svitolina previously refused to shake hands with Belarusian star Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon due to the conflict in Ukraine](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737347501_448_Revealed-Why-Australian-Open-star-Elina-Svitolina-REFUSED-to-shake.jpeg)
Svitolina previously refused to shake hands with Belarusian star Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon due to the conflict in Ukraine
![Revealed: Why Australian Open star Elina Svitolina REFUSED to shake hands with her opponent Veronika Kudermetova in very icy end to match 4 The war in Ukraine is a sensitive topic in the tennis world, with flags recently banned at events including the Australian Open](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737347502_364_Revealed-Why-Australian-Open-star-Elina-Svitolina-REFUSED-to-shake.jpeg)
The war in Ukraine is a sensitive topic in the tennis world, with flags recently banned at events including the Australian Open
Svitolina stated that she would not shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players ahead of the 2023 French Open and has called on all Ukrainian players to do the same.
“I think the tennis organizations should come up with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian/Belarusian and Ukrainian players,” she said in 2023.
‘I don’t know if it might be unclear to people. I have said several times that until Russian troops leave Ukraine and we take back our territories, we will not shake hands.
‘I have a clear explanation. I don’t know how I can be clearer.’
Although Azarenka was not fascinated by Svitolina’s position, tennis fans were divided over her criticism of Kudermetova on social media.
“This handshake thing is getting embarrassing,” one fan posted on X.
“I had to rewind it because I thought I missed the shake,” said one confused supporter.
“Politics and sports should never mix,” another claimed.
Svitolina did not speak about her opponent after the win, but told former Australian tennis star Casey Dellacqua that she had faced adversity since her last quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open.
“It’s been a long time, I feel like it’s been a lifetime,” she said.
‘So much has happened… with our daughter Skai, and then also an operation… a lot has happened, and I am very happy with the performance during this tournament.
“I just tried to fight, this fighting spirit… the only thing you can do when things don’t go your way is put your head down and get back to work, and my team helped me a lot.”
Svitolina said there had been intense preparation behind her 2025 Australian Open run.
“It’s hours and hours on the field, off the field in the gym,” she said.
‘I also think it’s mental [side] played a big role here, because to keep coming back after pregnancy, after operations, starting from scratch… it’s not easy, I can tell you.
‘For me it’s a great feeling to go deep in these tournaments, in grand slams.’