Australian Open: Sabalenka reaches final, Svitolina refuses to shake her hand

Milan, Jan. 29. (LaPresse) – World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the first finalist at the Australian Open women’s tournament, the first Grand Slam event of the season. The Belarusian tennis player reached her fourth consecutive final in Melbourne without losing a set, defeating Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour and 17 minutes of play in the semifinals. As has been the case for some time now, at the end of the match Svitolina avoided shaking hands with Sabalenka because of Belarus’ support for Russia in the war against Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict, Svitolina has openly defended her people with a series of humanitarian initiatives. In the final, Sabalenka will face the winner of the second semifinal between American Jessica Pegula and Kazakh Elena Rybakina.