No handshakes between Daria Kasatkina & Lesia Tsurenko amidst Russia-Ukraine tensions, simple wave exchanged
Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko did not shake hands with Russia's Daria Kasatkina after their Madrid Open clash. The two did, however, wave towards one another.
Kasatkina and Tsurenko locked horns in the third round of the Madrid Open. The Russian ended up winning 6-4, 6-2 to book her place in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 event.
There was no post-match handshake between the two given the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Tsurenko and Kasatkina only waved at each other shortly after the former shook hands with the chair umpire.
There have been a number of instances when Ukrainian players have refused to shake hands with a Russian or Belarusian opponent due to the war. Earlier this season, Marta Kostyuk did not shake hands with Varvara Gracheva at the ATX Open, and subsequently with Anastasia Potapova in Miami.
Tsurenko still managing to wave at Kasatkina could be due to the latter often speaking against the war. Kasatkina told YouTuber Vitya Kravchenko last year that she wanted the war to end.
"For the war to end. There hasn't been a single day since February 24 (when Russia invaded Ukraine) that I haven't read some news or haven't thought of for the day to pass by. Really, I have no connection with it (the war). I haven't been affected, thank God, barely minimum, Wimbledon and all that," Daria Kasatkina said.
"But people who have relatives in Ukraine, especially when you start talking about Russia. I can't imagine what they are going through. It's full-blown nightmare. ... Without a thought, I would do anything I can (to end it), but unfortunately (I can't)," she added.
Daria Kasatkina has won 10 out of 20 matches so far this season
Daria Kasatkina's win over Lesia Tsurenko takes her 2023 win tally to 10 out of 20 matches so far. The Russian reached the final of the Adelaide International 2 and more recently, the semifinals of the Charleston Open. The latter is her best run so far in terms of matches won at a single tournament.
Kasatkina received a bye to the second round of the Madrid Open by virtue of being one of the seeded players. She then beat compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3 before taking on Tsurenko.
The Russian will face either 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova or 21st seed Anastasia Potapova in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.