An experienced American tennis player was marked by unsportsmanlike conduct after the end of the rivalry with the Ukrainian.
Elina Svitolina started her Wimbledon 2023 journey with a win. The Ukrainian tennis player defeated Venus Williams in straight sets, aggravating her knee injury during the match.
In the final draw, Svitolina’s shot hit the line, but the referees indicated the ball was out of bounds. After the challenge, the decision was reversed, allowing Elina to complete the match with victory. Venus shook her head, expressing displeasure.
Athletes shake hands. However, the American then left the court without shaking hands with the referee, thus breaking the tradition of all tennis matches.
Move on to the second round.@ElinaSvitolina defeated five-time champion Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-3#wimbledon pic.twitter.com/0JXnOuFxFX
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2023
Such a gesture does not go unnoticed. On social media, fans began criticizing Williams.
“Venus Williams should be ashamed that she didn’t shake hands with the referee at the end of the match. At the age of 43, she wanted to play, but acted like a child. It’s just worth ending her career.”
“One can only be surprised that Venus Williams is still competing at Wimbledon, although shaking her head at the referee and not shaking hands shows a lack of class, unbecoming of a champion,” added another one.
A third wrote: “Wonderful to see what kind of Venus Williams will appear again at Wimbledon. Shame on her for nodding her head towards the referee and not shaking hands with the referee. Shameful behavior for a legendary tennis player ,” talkSPORT quotes fans.
Source: korrespondent
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
