"Should do same with Elena Rybakina" - Fans slam Elina Svitolina's no-handshake with Russian-born Avanesyan in Monterrey despite nationality change

Elina Svitolina refusing to shake hands with Russian-born Elina Avanesyan, despite her nationality change, has irked tennis fans. The Ukrainian's no-handshake policy with Russian and Belarusian born players, due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has been her way of taking a stand for her nation, something a lot of her compatriots have done as well.

Svitolina is currently competing at the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, a WTA 500 event. Seeded fifth, the Ukrainian received a bye in the opening round and kicked off her tournament with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win against Elina Avanesyan.

The 29-year-old didn't shake with Avanesyan after the match, surprising many fans since the 21-year-old was now representing Armenia. The Russian-born had obtained Armenian citizenship in August this year and changed her nationality.

Fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their disappointment in Elina Svitolina. One fan said that the Ukrainian shouldn't have shaken hands with Elena Rybakina or Yulia Putintseva, both of whom are Russian-born players but representing Kazakhstan. However, when she played the World No. 4 at the French Open this year, Svitolina and Rybakina did shake hands after their match.

"In that case she should be doing same with Rybakina and Putintseva too," the fan commented.

Another fan questioned what Svitolina wanted from the Russian players and couldn't understand why she didn't shake hands with Avanesyan.

"What dos she want Russian players to do ? It's even more absurd in this case, because Avanesyan did exactly what Ukrainian players wanted since the start," the fan said.

Here are some other reactions from the fans.

"The war in Ukraine is bad. This not shaking Russian players hands is just petty. It been how long now since the war started. It time for the players to start acting like adults it not like their opponents called for this war," a fan opined.

"It’s shi**y sportsmanship now," a fan said.

"Imagine thinking this is the best path to peace. That attitude against someone that has literally nothing to do with the war will serve perfectly as an excuse for anyone that actually has something to do with the war," a fan thought.

"Is Avanesyan the chief of the Russian armies ? I don’t think so," a fan questioned.

Elina Svitolina will next play Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals of Abierto GNP Seguros

Elina Svitolina (Image Source: Getty)

Elina Svitolina will take on sixth seed Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals in Monterrey, in what will be the second meeting between the two women. Due to fourth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's withdrawal from the event, Svitolina received a bye in the opening round.

Noskova, on the other hand, kicked off her campaign with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 win against Anna Danilina following which she won a hard-fought match against Wang Xiyu 6-4, 7-6(11) to reach the final eight.

The two women last met at the Australian Open this year, where Elina Svitolina had to retire at 0-3 down due to a back injury bringing their match to an unfortunate end. Whoever wins the match, will take on either ninth seed Magdalena Frech or second seed Emma Navarro in the semifinals in Monterrey,