The mother of a 10-year-old girl who was put in the middle of an “awkward situation” ahead of Aryna Sabalenka’s Australian Open clash with Elina Svitolina has demanded that politics are kept away from tennis. Promising talent, Ava Sultana, was picked to participate in the pre-match coin toss for Thursday’s semi-final encounter, before posing at the net with each player.
While pre-match photos are usually taken with both players and the mascot together, Svitolina chose not to be pictured with Sabalenka, given Russia‘s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. That’s given that Svitolina is Ukrainian, and Sabalenka hails from Belarus. As a result, Sultana took two separate photographs with the two tennis stars ahead of the match, with her mother, Christina, now giving her take on matters.
Speaking to Wide World of Sports, she said: “For her this is a special moment. She was totally excited to walk out there with her idols.
“She’s obviously none the wiser this morning because she wouldn’t have seen the media. But for us as parents, we’ve seen some of the stuff and gone ‘Well, what about the little kid who’s out there living her dream, and she’s been put in the middle of politics?’
“That’s not even an on-court political thing, it’s something totally separate to tennis. I think the fact they put kids in the middle of it, they should probably address these things so it’s not an awkward situation on court and then it turns into something.
“The kids don’t understand the background of it. They go, ‘Why didn’t they want to have a photo together? Why did she quickly walk away?’ Sabalenka took the time and put her arm around her and took a moment, then Svitolina kind of just quickly put her arm around and then walked off. It was quite awkward.”
Express Sport have reached out to Tennis AU for comment.
After her 6-2 6-3 win over Svitolina, Sabalenka was asked about her opponent’s decision to refuse a photograph or a handshake. To which, she replied: “I’m not focusing on that. They have been doing it for so long. It’s their decision, and I respect that.
“I think she knows that I respect her as a player. I know that she respects me as a player. That’s all I care [about]. About no handshake, it’s their decision. I respect that.
“About Elina, I felt like I didn’t have opportunity to even say, great job. I have it now, so great job, great match, great player, amazing tournament. Yeah, she played incredible.”
As a result of the win, Sabalenka will now face Elina Rybakina in the final of the Australian Open. Their match is slated for 8.30am (UK time) at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.