Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 2, 2023 Ukraine's Elina Svitolina shakes hands with the Umpire as Russia's Anna Blinkova looks on after their third round match REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
PARIS (Reuters) - Ukraine tennis player Elina Svitolina will not shake the hands of Russian and Belarusian opponents out of respect for the soldiers fighting on the front line following Moscow's invasion of her country last year, she said on Friday.
Svitolina, who reached the French Open fourth round on Friday with a win over Anna Blinkova of Russia, refused to shake hands with her opponent and was booed by some of the fans.
