- Lesia Tsurenko reveals personal trauma via social media post
- Ukrainian refused to shake Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka’s hand
- Tsurenko said that her loss at the Open made a lot of people happy
Ukrainian tennis star Lesia Tsurenko has posted a powerful message to social media trolls following her loss to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open third round on Friday.
Tsurenko was dismissed without even winning a game in the 52-minute drubbing, losing 6-0 6-0 to Sabalenka.
After the match, Tsurenko refused to shake hands with her opponent, now a common occurrence between Ukrainian players and those from Russia and Belarus.
On Saturday, Tsurenko took to social media to make a personal statement about her loss and the ongoing conflict in her homeland.
‘I noticed that my loss yesterday made a lot of people happy. So my new post is for you,’ she wrote on X.
Lesia Tsurenko has posted a powerful message to social media trolls following her loss to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open
Tsurenko refused to shake hands with her Belarusian opponent after her defeat
‘Please feel free to express whatever you want to me. I hope this will make you happy for a little bit longer.
‘But you know, on the eve of the new year, my friend returned from Russian captivity after 1.5 years. Lost 55 kilograms of body weight and with an infection in his legs, but the main thing is that he is alive. This is real happiness.
‘So I hope that you will also have real reasons to feel happy in your life and not because of the loss of some random tennis player whom you have never even met in your life.’
Some users of the X platform used the post to continue to criticise Tsurenko.
‘Beyond poor not shaking hands yesterday. Dreadful,’ replied one user.
‘Shake your opponents hands. Have some respect,’ said another.
However, there were many more comments of support and encouragement.
‘Strong message, keep up the good work and hopefully those hateful people won’t get into your head,’ said one.
Tsurenko spoke to media about how tough it is for her to play Russian or Belarusian players
‘Stay strong! Good people are with you, and there are more of them!’ replied another.
‘Wonderful response, you are truly strong and amazing!’ said another.
After the match the 34-year-old spoke to media about how tough it is for her to play Russian or Belarusian players.
‘It’s very hard for me,’ Tsurenko said.
‘I know where they’re from, this is another reminder for me and it’s painful.’
She added: ‘I feel like so many things that were so important for me are not important any more, like a tennis match.
‘I don’t feel like I really care about how I finish the match, what is the score. I care more about the fact I can be here and I can remind the world that the war is still on, I care about the fact that I can earn some money and I can donate and I can help other people.’