All tennis players have been informed about the boycott of handshakes with representatives of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, the FTU said
Konstantin Kotlyar, father of Ukrainian tennis player Elizaveta Kotlyar, commented on the Ukrainian woman’s action on Australian Junior Open.
“Lisa is only 16 years old, she does not yet have any real experience of competing in such significant competitions as the Grand Slam tournaments, the pinnacle of both professional and youth tennis. There is an extraordinary atmosphere here, which in itself puts a lot of pressure on the athletes.”
“At the beginning of your career, it’s hard to cope with this and not be nervous. Unfortunately, my daughter did not feel calm, her emotions were in excess, so she did not fully control her behavior. She automatically performed the post-match ritual – she shook her opponent’s hand, not realizing that behind the net was a representative of the country who had committed an attack on our Motherland.”
“This was certainly a mistake, which Lisa is very sorry for and assures that she will never allow anything like this to happen again. Always remember who is who. In fact, she is a sincere patriot of Ukraine, has always been one, is and will remain so in the future.”
They also gave their assessment of the situation in Ukrainian Tennis Federation, where they emphasized that all tennis players were informed about the boycott of handshakes with representatives of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
“The Ukrainian Tennis Federation supports the general position of Ukrainian tennis players not to shake hands with representatives of aggressor countries. Our leading players are aware of this and support this position. But there can always be mistakes. This mistake happened to our tennis player today.”
Let us remind you that Kotlyar made her debut at the Australian Open among juniors in the main draw. In the first round, the Ukrainian made her debut in a meeting with Russian Vlada Mincheva, who competes under a neutral flag.
Kotlyar lost in two sets (2:6, 4:6). After the meeting ended, Elizaveta shook hands with Mincheva. This event immediately received publicity in the media, including propaganda from the Russian Federation.
Source: Sportarena
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