NEW DELHI: Daria Kasatkina, the Russian tennis player, expressed her disappointment and frustration after being booed off by the crowd following her fourth-round loss to Elina Svitolina at the French Open in Paris on Sunday.
Svitolina had previously stated that she would not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Kasatkina has been one of the few Russian players to openly criticize the war, describing it as a "full nightmare."
Her stance has garnered support from Russian popular singer Zemfira, who herself left the country due to her opposition to the invasion.
Zemfira was listed as a foreign agent by the Russian Justice Ministry in February, citing her support for Ukraine and her criticism of the invasion.
After her defeat to Svitolina with a score of 6-4, 7-6(5), Kasatkina gave her opponent a thumb up, and Svitolina reciprocated the gesture.
The intention behind the thumbs-up gesture was unclear, whether it was directed towards Kasatkina or had a different meaning altogether.
Svitolina, however, said: "Really thankful for her position that she took. Yeah, she's a really brave person to say it publicly, that not so many players did. She's a brave one."
Kasatkina was, however, booed by the crowd.
"Leaving Paris with a very bitter feeling. All these days, after every match I’ve played in Paris I always appreciated and thanked the crowd for their support and being there for the players," the 26-year-old wrote on Twitter.
"But yesterday I was booed for just being respectful of my opponent's position and not to shake hands. Me and Elina showed respect to each other after a tough match but leaving the court like that was the worst part of yesterday.
"Be better, love each other. Don’t spread hate."
Geopolitics have been at the centre of this year's French Open, with Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus skipping her post-match press conference twice, saying she felt unsafe after being grilled about the war.
Last week, two-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic started a controversy after writing on a camera lens "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia" amid unrest in the region.
(With Reuters inputs)
