Aryna Sabalenka has declared her respect for Ukrainian players’ ongoing refusal to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents, describing it as “their decision” following her straight-sets triumph over Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open.
The world No 1 defeated the 12th seed 6-2 6-3 in Thursday’s semi-final, a match where no post-match handshake took place as Ukrainian players have maintained this stance since the war in Ukraine began nearly four years ago.
“I’m not focusing on that. They have been doing it for so long, so, like, nothing is – it’s their decision, and I respect that,” Sabalenka said afterwards.
The Belarusian added that mutual respect exists between herself and Svitolina as players.
Tournament organisers took pre-emptive action to prevent any negative crowd reaction during the Rod Laver Arena encounter.
Announcers addressed spectators twice during the match, requesting their understanding of the situation.
“At the end of the match, there will be no handshake between the players. We appreciate your respect for the athletes during and after the match,” they announced.
The moment Aryna Sabalenka reached her 4th consecutive Australian Open final.
This woman has reached the final of every single Grand Slam played on a hard court since Australian Open 2023.
That’s SEVEN straight hard court finals.
What a player. 🐅
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 29, 2026
The first announcement came before the players entered the court, with a second reminder issued when Sabalenka held a 5-2 advantage in the second set.
This measure followed an incident in the fourth round when Svitolina’s Russian opponent Mirra Andreeva, the eighth seed, received boos from some spectators despite deliberately avoiding the net at the match’s conclusion.
Five facts for tennis fans | GETTY/PA
Despite the absence of a traditional net greeting, Sabalenka applauded Svitolina as she departed the court and later seized the opportunity to publicly acknowledge her opponent’s efforts.
“I felt like I didn’t have opportunity to even say, great job. I have it now, so great job, great match, great player, amazing tournament. Yeah, she played incredible,” the two-time Australian Open champion stated during her press conference.
Sabalenka emphasised that both players understand their mutual professional admiration regardless of the handshake situation.
“I think she knows that I respect her as a player. I know that she respect me as a player. That’s all I care,” she explained.
Elina Svitolina saw her hopes of Australian Open glory go up in smoke
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The victory propels Sabalenka into her fourth consecutive Australian Open final, where she will seek to build on lessons from difficult championship defeats last year.
The 27-year-old lost to Madison Keys at Melbourne Park and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros before claiming the US Open title against Amanda Anisimova.
“Yeah, I actually know what was wrong in all of those finals that I played and I lost, and I would say that last year was lots of lessons, lots of things to learn about myself, and definitely not gonna happen again this season,” she said.
Sabalenka described adopting a different psychological approach, expressing readiness to fight with whatever she has available in championship matches this season.
