Wimbledon fans boo Victoria Azarenka after frosty ending to Elina Svitolina loss

Victoria Azarenka was booed by the Court 1 crowd after losing a three-set epic to Elina Svitolina. Ahead of the match, the Ukrainian had already confirmed that she wouldn’t be shaking hands with Azarenka and stuck to her word as the Belarusian waved to acknowledge her opponent. And as the former world No 1 exited the stage, boos and jeers rang out around the stands.

Svitolina and Azarenka gave the Court 1 crowd a night to remember with a two-hour-and-46-minute battle that saw the world No 76 come from a set and a break down to oust the 19th seed 2-6 6-4 7-6(9) after an enthralling final-set tiebreak. The fans were pulling for the Ukrainian throughout and made their feelings about Azarenka clear at the conclusion of the match.

The 33-year-old was booed off court as she looked bemused, sarcastically smiling and shaking her head. And Azarenka made a gesture in response to the jeers, putting her fists together above her head.

Azarenka’s clash against the former world No 3 was always set to have some tension bubbling under the surface, as she hails from Belarus while Svitolina is from Ukraine – and has even become an ambassador for UNITED24 – the main venue for collecting charitable donations in support of her nation.

And it seems the Court 1 fans were on Svitolina’s side as they gave her opponent a frosty farewell to end the night. With her win, the Ukrainian has now reached back-to-back Grand Slam quarter-finals. And the results have even more significance as she gave birth in October and only returned to the circuit in April.

Speaking after the match, the 28-year-old said it was one of the best moments of her life after giving birth to her daughter Skai. “After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second-happiest moment in my life,” she told the loud fans.

The world No 76 – who has also already won a title since giving birth – also sent a heartfelt message to Ukraine. “I was just thinking, back home there are a lot of people cheering for me,” Svitolina said.