Former World No. 1 Belarusian Victoria Azarenka (WTA No. 20) was booed by fans after the 2023 Wimbledon Round of 16 match with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. Svitolina outplayed her rival from the aggressor state in an incredibly tense three-set duel. After the end of the game tennis players did not shake hands. Fans greeted the victory of the Ukrainian in the decisive tie-break with loud applause.

But the British public booed the Belarusian, thus condemning the war of conquest that Russia, with the support of its ally Belarus, is waging against Ukraine. In response, Azarenka smiled and shook her head..

It should be noted that at another Grand Slam tournament - Roland Garros-2023 - the audience booed Ukrainian tennis players who did not shake hands with rivals from aggressor states. Svitolina advanced to Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second time in her career. Elina competes in the main draw of the grass major for the ninth time. Her best result at this Grand Slam remains the semi-finals in 2019. In the quarter-finals, Svitolina will compete with the first racket of the world, the Polish Iga Sventek, who has been actively supporting Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion..

She plays matches with a blue and yellow ribbon on her cap, and last July she organized a charity tennis tournament to help war-torn Ukrainian children.. Recall that in the third round match, Svitolina dealt with a native of Moscow, Sofia Kenin, who represents the United States. This year, Russians and Belarusians were allowed to Wimbledon in a neutral status, subject to a number of rules. Tennis players from Russia and Belarus, as well as their teams, had to sign a " Also, players receiving funding from aggressor countries were not allowed to participate in the tournament..