Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka qualified for the second round of the French Open on Sunday, defeating Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka appeared to struggle with her serve at first and trailed 2-3, but unseeded Kostyuk was unable to capitalize on her lead, allowing the Australian Open champion to quickly regain control. The tournament's second seed, Sabalenka, closed out the first set convincingly on the Philippe Chatrier court before leading 4-1 in the second set.
However, jeers erupted after the match as Kostyuk refused to shake hands with her opponent, having previously stated she would not shake hands with any competitor from Russia or Belarus due to Moscow's invasion of her country. Sabalenka, who seemed to mockingly bow to the crowd after her victory, expressed that she believed the boos were aimed at her. She said, "It was a tough match, I mean on an emotional level. Sorry guys, I didn’t understand at first, I thought the boos were directed at me, so I was a bit surprised, but then I felt your support, so thank you very much."
