She later said that “people should be embarrassed” for booing her.
Kostyuk has been refusing to shake hands with the Russian and Belarusian players she goes up against ever since her home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia, aided by Belarus.
“People should be honestly embarrassed,” said Kostyuk.
“I want to see people react to it in 10 years when the war is over. I think they will not feel really nice about what they did.”
Sabalenka was initially startled by the booing, thinking that it was directed at her then she realized it was for Kostyuk.
Sabalenka came to Kostyuk’s defense saying that she, “didn’t deserve to leave the court that way”.
“It was a very tough match, tough emotionally,” said Sabalenka in her on-court interview.
“I thought the boos were against me so I felt a bit surprised. But then I felt your support.”
Prior to this match, Sabalenka had said that she understands if Kostyuk refuses to shake hands with her.
In a post-match interview, Sabalenka said:
“About the war situation, I said it many, many times: nobody in this world, Russian athletes or Belarusian athletes, supports the war. Nobody. How can we support the war?”
“Of course, we don’t support war. If we could affect anyhow the war, if we could stop it, we would do it. But unfortunately, it’s not in our hands.”
Kostyuk had a response to this saying: “She never says that she personally doesn’t support this war.”
“She should talk for herself I think, first of all. Then, talk about all the other athletes because I personally know athletes from tennis that support the war.”
“To say nobody, I think is a little bit strong because I think you can only speak for yourself.”
Sabalenka, along with Iga Swiatek, is one of the favorites to win the French Open title this year.