WATCH: Controversial scene at Australian Open as Kristina Mladenovic and Lyudmyla Kichenok refuse handshake after "unsportsmanlike" accusation

The John Caine Arena witnessed an early morning rift between France's Kristina Mladenovic and Lyudmyla Kichenok as they refused a handshake after their women's doubles third-round match at the 2025 Australian Open. The duo of Ukraine's Kichenok and Chan Hao-ching was beaten 7-6(3), 6-2.

As Taiwan's Hao-ching and China's Shuai Zhang embraced after the match, Lyudmyla denied acknowledging Mladenovic's handshake. The French also shared a moment with the Taiwanese. The incident raised many eyebrows across Melbourne Park.

The French tennis player shared the reason behind the snub in the post-match interview. She claimed to have been greatly bothered by the opponent's behavior while at play.

"Well if you want my real honest opinion I think the opponent team woke me up because they were a little bit showing unsportsmanship during my serve and I got really mad. So I was like okay this is how the match starting and then it woke me up," Kristina Mladenovic said.

"I was very composed with my partner and we fought together to find the solution. So actually, yeah, that was really a trigger point for me at the beginning, you know. It woke me up and it was getting better and better during the match for the game and I am pleased with our level."

The ninth seeds will be facing the top-seeded pair, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, who they beat on their last meet in the 2024 US Open's semifinals, in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open on Wednesday.

---

Kristina Mladenovic emerges victorious over Lyudmyla Kichenok after disappointment in the last encounter

Kristina Mladenovic at the Australian Open - Source: Getty

Before this match, Kristina Mladenovic faced Lyudmyla Kichenok in the 2024 US Open women's doubles finals. The Shuai Zhang and Mladenovic duo suffered a heartbreak against the seventh-seeded Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko who won 6-4, 6-3, their first grand slam title win and fifth team title together.

Kristina was pleased with her and Zhang's performance after their straight-sets success in qualifying for the quarterfinals of the ongoing Australian Open. The pair rose from being down 4-0 in the first set and then being the first to seven-tiebreak. The French star player eyes her seventh Grand Slam title. The duo is headed to another potential Grand Slam victory after the 2022 Roland Garros (French Open) triumph against Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.