Ukrainian tennis star Lesia Tsurenko shares details of devastating personal trauma after Australian Open defeat and handshake drama
- Lesia Tsurenko reveals personal trauma via social media post
- The Ukrainian refused to shake hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka
- Tsurenko said her loss at the Open made a lot of people happy
Ukrainian tennis star Lesia Tsurenko has posted a strong message to social media trolls following her loss to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday.
Tsurenko was sent off without even winning a match in the 52-minute thrashing, losing 6-0, 6-0 to Sabalenka.
After the match, Tsurenko refused to shake hands with her opponent, which is now a common occurrence between Ukrainian players and players from Russia and Belarus.
On Saturday, Tsurenko made a personal statement on social media about her loss and the ongoing conflict in her home country.
‘I noticed that my loss yesterday made a lot of people happy. So my new post is for you,” she wrote on X.
Lesia Tsurenko has posted a strong message to social media trolls following her loss to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open
Tsurenko refused to shake hands with her Belarusian opponent after her defeat
‘Feel free to tell me whatever you want. I hope this makes you a little happy.
“But you know, on the eve of the New Year, my friend returned from Russian captivity after a year and a half. Lost 55 kilos of body weight and an infection in his legs, but the most important thing is that he is alive. This is real happiness.
“So I hope you will also have real reasons to feel happy in your life and not because of losing some random tennis player you have never met in your life.”
Some X platform users used the post to continue criticizing Tsurenko.
‘Except the poor people didn’t shake hands yesterday. Terrible,” one user replied.
‘Shake your opponent’s hand. Have some respect,” said another.
However, there were many more expressions of support and encouragement.
“Strong message, keep it up and hopefully those hateful people don’t get into your head,” said one.
Tsurenko spoke to the media about how difficult it is for her to play against Russian or Belarusian players
‘Stay strong! There are good people with you, and there are more!’ replied another.
‘Great response, you are really strong and amazing!’ said another.
After the match, the 34-year-old spoke to the media about how difficult it is for her to play against Russian or Belarusian players.
“It’s very difficult for me,” Tsurenko said.
“I know where they come from, this is another memory for me and it’s painful.”
She added: “I feel like so many things that were so important to me are no longer important, like a tennis match.
‘I don’t feel like I really care how I finish the match, what the score is. I think it’s more important that I can be here and remind the world that the war is still going on. I care more about making some money and donating and helping other people.”