Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova avoid handshake after US Open epic… after Lesia Tsurenko and Ekaterina Alexandrova share an awkward exchange in another match between Ukraine and Russia
- Elina Svitolina defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in just under three hours
- And there was no handshake between the two after the match ended
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Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova avoided shaking hands on Thursday after a hard-fought match at the US Open.
Svitolina came back to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in just under three hours, and Pavlyuchenkova had already left the field when her opponent walked to the net to thank the referee.
Earlier this summer, Svitolina refused to shake hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka after meeting in the quarterfinals of the French Open, which Sabalenka won.
Svitolina had said before the tournament that she would not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players – due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ role in helping Russia.
After her loss to Sabalenka, she said her opponent stirred up the situation by waiting for a handshake at the net.
Elina Svitolina (above) approached the referee’s chair and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had already left the field
Pavlyuchenkova walked off the field after her three-set loss to Svitolina
Svitolina advanced to the third round of the US Open on Thursday afternoon with the win
Last month, Svitolina also did not shake hands with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon.
The former world. No. 1 was booed off the field, according to the court Independent.
Svitolina vs. Pavlyutsenkova was not the only Open match on Thursday in which a frosty exchange took place afterwards.
The Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko and the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova also did not shake hands after the latter’s victory in two sets.
Lesia Tsurenko and Ekaterina Alexandrova do not shake hands at the end of their match
However, the pair acknowledged each other from a distance as they approached the umpire’s chair, Alexandrova seeing her racquet sticking up slightly.
Alexandrova won the match 6-1, 6-3 and advanced to the third round, where she will face reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Svitolina will then compete against either Jessica Pegula or Patricia Maria Țig.
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