Ukraine-born Belgian player Maryna Zanevska brought the curtain down on her tennis career by snubbing a post-match handshake after losing to Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open.
Zanevska, who said before the tournament she would retire after her campaign in New York due to injury, bowed out after losing 6-3, 6-2 to second-seed Sabalenka.
Afterwards, the Odessa-born 30-year-old declined to shake Sabalenka’s hand in a gesture of solidarity with the country of her birth.
Several Ukrainian players have snubbed post-game handshakes with opponents from Russia or Belarus since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Belarus is a key military ally of Russia.
Zanevska said she had opted not to shake Sabalenka’s hand after accusing the Australian Open champion of not “stepping up” since the conflict began.
