It’s tradition. In nearly every sport, the game concludes with the opposing players shaking hands with each other and congratulating them on a ‘good game.’ Even if you play a bad game, lose to your bitter rival, or are just generally in a bad mood, it’s still expected that you shake hands with your opponent(s). But what if you don’t?
On February 24, 2022, the war between Russia and Ukraine ensued and so did tensions between Russian and Ukrainian tennis players. Generally, players’ nationalities don’t affect the relationships between players on and off court, but this was entirely different. Elina Svitolina, a Ukrainian tennis player and former World Number 3, threatened to forfeit any future matches against Russian or Belarusian players if they were permitted to continue competing under their respective nation’s flags. The next day, both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour made the decision that Russian and Belarusian players would compete under a neutral flag, a designation still in place today. This alone sparked a lot of controversy amongst both players and fans. Not too long after, Wimbledon, one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world, banned Russian and Belarusian players from participating in that year’s edition of Wimbledon, withholding top 10 players on both tours, including Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Danil Medvedev and Belrusia’s Aryna Sabalenka.
These two major decisions by high-ranking tennis governing bodies resulted in several news outlets discussing these decisions, but the primary debate simultaneously ensuing on social media was about Svitolina refusing to shake the hands of any Russian or Belarusian players after a match. This was a personal decision made by Svitolina. Some Ukrainian players followed suit, while others continued to shake hands with their opponents, regardless of their opponent’s nationality. Many keyboard warriors defended Svitolina’s decision to forgo the post-match handshake, while the rest of the computer warriors claimed that it’s tradition to congratulate your opponent after a match. Although many comments on social media got quite absurd and a select few even offensive, they propose an important question: how important is the post-match handshake?
If a player chose to ignore shaking their opponent’s hand under normal circumstances, the player would be heavily criticized, if not also fined considering the scrutiny the tours put players under. In regards to Svitolina, she puts herself in a unique situation. On the one hand, she is standing up for her country that is being decimated by Russia; but on the other hand, she is disregarding not just an integral part of tennis, but of sports in general. Personally, I cannot relate or even fathom what it would be like to have my country obliterated, my home turned to rubble, and friends and family forced to put their lives on the line, or worse, killed.
However, the only issue I find with Svitolina’s decision to essentially ignore her opponents after a match is that several Russian players on the tour have spoken out against the war. The February the war started, Rublev wrote on one of the broadcast cameras at a tournament “no war please” before signing the camera lens, as is tradition for the match winners. Daria Kastakina, a former top ten tennis player on the WTA tour, spoke out against the war in an interview where she also announced she is gay, both of which put Kasatkina under a lot of scrutiny from high ranking officials in Russia. Other Russian and Belarusian players have stated they support “peace,” however that response only keeps their stance on the war unknown while still leaving themselves in good-standing with the general public. Other Russian players have also put themselves in vulnerable situations by denouncing the war, but regardless of the stance players have taken, Svitolina refuses to acknowledge players of certain nationalities.
In most sports, fans tend to debate whether athletes should speak about politics to the media or ‘stay focussed on their sport.’ I don’t see any issue with athletes discussing politics; afterall, they are citizens of their respective countries and have the right to discuss issues they find pertinent. However, if the politics result in treating other athletes differently or with less respect than is usually shown and affect what happens during a game or match, then it gets problematic. Svitolina and other Ukrainian tennis players are dealing with extreme circumstances; however, all athletes should receive the respect that they have garnered and receive some form of acknowledgement after each match.
