Wimbledon chief breaks silence on Victoria Azarenka episode, issues sharp warning they ‘can’t control’ booing

It was a disappointing end to a riveting clash on Court 1 on Sunday night between Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka as the former world no.1 was booed off the court leaving her disgruntled. It was a dramatic clash wth Svitolina claiming her first ever career win against Azarenka after fight back twice in the three-setter tie to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinal for the second time in her career. After the match, Svitolina and Azarenka did not shake hands as it has been the stance of all Ukranian players on tour against Russian and Belarusian players. But Azarenka was left shocked after the crowd began to boo her off when she was leaving the court following the loss. Wimbledon chief has now responded to the episode. (Wimbledon 2023 Day 8 Live Updates)

All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said that while it was a player’s “personal decision” to not shake hands, she added that they cannot control the booing from the crowd.

Bolton said: “We aren’t in a position where we can control the crowds here at Wimbledon. We traditionally have a hugely respectful crowd here and I expect that we will continue to see that as we head into the rest of the tournament.

“I think I would echo what Elina and Vika said last night: having witnessed one of the most incredible matches on No 1 Court to an absolutely rapt audience, we should be focusing on the tennis and the match that we saw, not all of the other stuff that went on.”

In the press conference after the match, Azarenka criticised the Wimbloedn crowd saying that they were “drunk” and “not fair”.

Bolton responded to the claim saying: “That’s not an issue that we recognise. What I would say is what we all saw in that match was an extremely high intensity well-matched contest that had the crowd absolutely on the edge of their seats. So the atmosphere in there was incredible. And that was driven by the quality of what they were seeing on the court.”

Earlier on Sunday, Svitolina had urged tennis authorities to make an official statement on the no-handshake stance of the Ukrainian players post the booing controversy.

“I got the same. I got the same in Paris. I played three matches in Paris in this way. Today, as well,” she said. “For me personally, I think the tennis organisations, they have to come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian players. I don’t know if it’s maybe not clear for people. Some people not really know what is happening. So I think this is the right way to do.”

The 28-year-old added: “I think the right thing to do is to come out. I already said multiple times that until Russian troops are out of Ukraine and we take back our territories, not going to shake hands. So I have clear statement. I don’t know how more clear I can be.”