Elina Svitolina refuses to shake hands with Russian Veronika Kudermetova; pens message for Ukraine after Australian Open 4R

Elina Svitolina refused to shake hands with Russian player Veronika Kudermetova following her win in the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open. Svitolina also penned a message for her country Ukraine after the win.

The former World No. 3 is seeded 28th at the Melbourne Major and started her campaign by defeating Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. She then triumphed 6-1, 6-4 over Caroline Dolehide before registering a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Jasmine Paolini to set up a fourth-round clash against Veronika Kudermetova.

Svitolina bagged a 6-4, 6-1 win over the Russian in an hour and 23 minutes to secure her spot in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open for the first time in six years.

After her win over Kudermetova, the 30-year-old refused to shake hands with her opponent at the net, something she has done frequently since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Before leaving the court, Svitolina left a message by signing the camera with the words, "The Spirit of Ukraine."

At the 2024 Australian Open, Elina Svitolina defeated the likes of wild card Taylah Preston, Viktoriya Tomova, and Viktorija Golubic in the first three rounds before retiring from her fourth-round match against Linda Noskova due to a back injury.

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Elina Svitolina will face Madison Keys at the Australian Open 2025 QF

Elina Svitolina at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Elina Svitolina will face off against 19th seed Madison Keys in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open. Svitolina best result at the Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the quarterfinals three times in her career - in 2018, 2019, and now in 2025. On the other hand, Keys' best results were reaching the semifinals in 2015 and 2022.

Keys kicked off her Melbourne Major campaign by defeating compatriot Ann Li 6-4, 7-5 in the first round, followed by a victory over qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse 7-6(1), 2-6, 7-5 in the second round. She then went on to beat 10th seed Danielle Collins 6-4, 6-4, and sixth seed Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, securing her spot in the quarterfinals.

Elina Svitolina and Madison Keys have met five times on the WTA Tour, with Keys winning three of those matches. Their most recent encounter was in the first round of the 2022 Adelaide International 2, which Keys won 6-2, 6-4. She then went on to win the title by defeating Alison Riske in the final.