Title contender Aryna Sabalenka got off to a good start at Roland Garros. The Belarusian made light work of her opponent Marta Kostyuk: 6-3 6-2. After the match, there was much consternation over Kostyuk's refusal to shake hands with her opponent.
Afterwards, Kostyuk did not walk to the net, but directly to the umpire and then to her bench. She left the court not much later, the Court Philippe Chatrier. "If she feels better about not giving me a hand, I can live with that," Sabalenka had announced beforehand.
"I can well imagine what kind of messages she would get from her homeland if she were to shake my hand," Sabalenka said. "That's why I understand. But at the same time, I think sports and politics should be separate. We are just athletes. But if she hates me, okay, I can't do anything about it."
The war in Ukraine is causing a lot of tension especially in the women's circuit, also because some players say the WTA tennis association are failing to defend Ukrainian tennis players.
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