What happened with the Ostapenko v Azarenka handshake?
Drama has unfolded on the WTA Tour this Wednesday, with Jelena Ostapenko refusing to shake Victoria Azarenka’s hand after losing to her for a third time in 2024
Gepa/Panoramic
Log into X today, and you’ll likely see one thing dominating your newsfeed as a tennis fan: the Ostapenko v Azarenka handshake.
Following their round of 16 match at the Qatar Open in Doha on Wednesday, Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka met at the net to shake hands. Except, they didn’t. Ostapenko dangled her racquet in front of Azarenka instead, seemingly as a substitute for a handshake, which the Belarusian dismissed, refusing to return in kind.
It was one of the more awkward moments on the WTA Tour this year, leaving many fans wondering what the context was. Did Ostapenko refuse to shake Azarenka’s hand because of her solidarity with Ukraine? Was she sick? Or simply a sore loser?
Ostapenko v Azarenka in 2024
So far this season, Jelena Ostapenko has been in red-hot form. The Latvian became the first woman to win two titles in 2024, first claiming the Adelaide International in January, before winning the Upper Austria Ladies Linz in early February.
The world No 11 is 14-0 in 2024, against players that aren’t Victoria Azarenka. Trouble is, the Belarusian has beaten her three times already this season.
The pair first met in Brisbane, where Azarenka prevailed in the quarter-finals in three sets. Then, they faced each other in the third round of the Australian Open, with Azarenka winning in straight sets. Now, Azarenka has made it three from three with another victory over Ostapenko in Doha this week, winning 6-0, 6-3.
Why did Ostapenko refuse to shake Azarenka’s hand?
This brings us to their handshake debacle in Doha on Wednesday. Many are speculating that Ostapenko’s refusal to shake hands, offering her racquet instead, was simply the Latvian being a sore loser.
While Ostapenko herself is yet to give context, there’s reason to believe this may be the case.
In their first two meetings, both happening within the past six weeks, the pair shook hands. If Ostapenko was refusing the handshake for reasons related to the war in Ukraine (Azarenka is Belarusian, and Ostapenko has Ukrainian family), it seems odds that she wouldn’t have done this in Brisbane and Melbourne as well.
Was the Latvian was simply being a bad sport after losing three times in a row to Azarenka? After all, Ostapenko’s frustration was clear on the court, as she “tried everything” as Azarenka said after the match, including taking a late medical timeout.
Perhaps. However, the Latvian government have recently just passed a vote banning their national teams from playing any of the Russian or Belarusian national teams. This was done as a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. While it doesn’t apply to individual match ups in tennis, there’s every chance that Ostapenko took it upon herself to opt out of the handshake with Azarenka for this reason.
With both women in strong form, there’s a good chance we’ll see the fourth instalment of Ostapenko v Azarenka in 2024 in the not-too-distant future. Fans will be waiting with abated breath to see how that handshake unfolds.
