tennis player Anhelina Kalinina refused to shake hands with Veronika Kudermetova, her Russian opponent, following the former鈥檚 victory in the semifinals of the Rome Masters in Italy on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after the match at Foro Italico, Rome, Kalinina said, 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 shake hands because the girl is from Russia basically. It鈥檚 no secret why I didn鈥檛 shake, because this country actually attacks Ukraine.
鈥淪o yeah, this is sport, I understand, but it鈥檚 also kind of political thing. So, yeah, it has nothing personal. But in general, yes, it鈥檚 not acceptable.鈥�
Kudermetova was asked about her relationship with Kalinina and the influence of 鈥減olitical overtones鈥�, and responded, 鈥淚 mean, here we鈥檙e athletes. We鈥檙e here, and we love what we do here. Doesn鈥檛 matter from which country you are. We鈥檙e athletes and that鈥檚 it. We are here to play tennis.鈥�
Kalinina denied the idea that her opponent鈥檚 nationality influenced the topsy-turvy nature of the match, describing Kudermetova as 鈥渁 top player, a very great player. It was about tennis.鈥�
Kalinina, who came into the tournament ranked No.47 in the world compared to Kudermetova at No.12, won in three sets 7-5 5-7 6-2.
The 26-year-old Ukrainian was asked about her family, who are currently living in Kyiv, and revealed a bomb exploded near the tennis academy where her parents work. She also said her grandparents eventually moved away from Nova Kakhovka, her hometown, after an explosion near their house.
In her on-court interview after the match, Kalinina said, 鈥淔or me it鈥檚 also really important for me to win every match, because you know, what Ukraine goes through, I just want to say that I really hope I give a tiny small light and maybe some positive emotions for my country.鈥�
Kalinina will face either Elena Rybakina in Saturday鈥檚 final. Rybakina was born in Russia but has represented Kazakhstan since 2018.
