The Ukrainian ignored her opponent, who until August 2024 played for a terrorist state.
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey, Mexico.
The 29-year-old native of Odessa started at these competitions immediately from the second circle, where she beat the representative of Armenia Elina Avanesyan. The match lasted 1 hour 14 minutes and ended with the victory of the Ukrainian with a score of 6:4, 6:3.
After her victory, Svitolina did not shake Avanesyan’s hand, ignoring her. At the same time, she did not forget to shake the referee's hand and greet the fans.
21-year-old Avanesyan was born in the Russian city of Pyatigorsk. Until August 2024, she played for a terrorist state, but has now received Armenian citizenship.
Svitolina will play sixth seeded Linda Noskova from the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. The fight will take place on the night of August 23.
Svitolina remained the last Ukrainian in the singles tournament in Monterrey. Earlier, Angelina Kalinina and Ekaterina Volodko were eliminated in the first round.
Recall that last week Svitolina competed at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, USA, where she stopped in the 1/8 finals after defeat from “neutral” Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, who is number three in the world rankings.