Kostyuk booed after avoiding Sabalenka handshake

2 years ago 43
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Marta Kostyuk walks to her chair without shaking Aryna Sabalenka's handMarta Kostyuk shook the chair umpire's hand but immediately walked straight to her chair without acknowledging Aryna Sabalenka
Dates: 28 May-11 June Venue: Roland Garros, Paris
Coverage: Live text and radio commentaries of selected matches across BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the BBC Sport website and app

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk was booed off court for avoiding a handshake with Aryna Sabalenka after the Belarusian's first-round win at the French Open.

Second seed Sabalenka delivered a dominant performance to win 6-3 6-2.

Belarus is an ally of Russia and allowed troops to use its territory to launch last year's invasion of Ukraine.

"I thought the boos were against me so I felt a bit surprised," said Australian Open champion Sabalenka. "But then I felt your support."

Prior to the match, Sabalenka - who has previously said "no-one supports war" - had said she understood if Kostyuk "hates" her.

Kostyuk, 20, refused to shake hands with Belarus' Victoria Azarenka at last year's US Open.

More to follow.

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