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Aryna Sabalenka has issued an apology for an on-court outburst during her three-set defeat against Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals. Social media footage captured the Belarusian player swearing during the 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 loss at the season-ending tournament in Indian Wells on Friday.
Reaction to Spectator Behaviour
Sabalenka explained on Saturday that her frustration stemmed from the conduct of certain fans in the stands. In an Instagram post, she stated, “My comment was not directed at Elina. I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment.”
She added, “That said, I should have handled my frustration differently, and I apologise to anyone I offended. Elina played a great match, and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.” Sabalenka appeared visibly annoyed throughout the match and chose not to speak with the media afterwards.
The Handshake Stance
Following the match, Svitolina did not shake hands with Sabalenka, continuing her policy of refusing traditional handshakes with players from Russia and Belarus following the 2022 invasion of her country. Ukrainian competitors also refrain from taking pre-match photographs with opponents from those nations.
During the 2023 French Open, Svitolina faced boos after declining to shake hands with Russian-born Anna Blinkova, and again following her quarter-final defeat to Sabalenka. Sabalenka previously commented that she respected Svitolina’s position regarding handshakes.
Svitolina Responds to the Outburst
Addressing Sabalenka’s social media statement, Svitolina acknowledged the presence of strong national support at the $10 million tournament. She noted, “There’s many flags and many Ukrainian supporters are here and of course they want me to win in this particular match.”
Reflecting on the online video, Svitolina called for greater mutual respect from fans towards all competitors. Speaking to reporters after her subsequent 6-2, 6-1 victory against Linda Noskova on Saturday, she remarked, “I think we played many times, with Aryna. She has her fans, I have my fans. Every country, every match that we’ve played has been kind of different.”
Svitolina advances to face Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Sunday’s final.
