World number two Sabalenka was seen angrily gesturing and swearing in Russian during her 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. (Reuters Photo)Recent geopolitical events have ensured that a Ukrainian taking on a Russian or Belarussian acquires additional context apart from being a purely sporting contest.Elina Svitolina has never been reluctant to voice her opinion on the invasion of her country by Russia, an operation facilitated by Belarus. Hence, the league encounter between Svitolina and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Tour Finals wasn’t going to be just another match.A video has surfaced on social media showing world number two Sabalenka angrily gesturing and swearing in Russian during her 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. Some have interpreted the tirade as an insult towards Svitolina or Ukrainians in general, but the Belarusian later linked it to her frustration and the behaviour of a section of the fans at the season-ending championships at Indian Wells.“My comment was not directed at Elina. I was frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment,” Sabalenka posted on Instagram.郎“Those f***ing Ukrainians, for f***’s sake!” Or was it “That f***ing Ukrainian b***h, for f***’s sake!”?These are the words ️ Aryna Sabalenka appears to be saying in Russian, judging by her lip movements during her WTA Finals match against Elina Svitolina.What a remarkable display of respect and sportsmanship from the world No. 2.But sure, let’s keep asking Ukrainian players why they refuse to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian opponents.Apparently, that’s still the bigger problem in tennis.— Ukrainian Tennis • BTU (@ukrtennis_eng) November 14, 2026“That said, I should have handled my frustration differently and I apologise to anyone I offended.”Svitolina, on her part, hinted that the crowd response could be attributed to the larger context beyond the tennis court.“There’s many flags and many Ukrainian supporters are here and of course they want me to win in this particular match,” she Svitolina said reacting to Sabalenka’s post.The Ukrainian said that social media often amplifies the most extreme comments, which often get into offensive territory.“I have seen the glimpse of it because obviously it’s in the social media, but yeah, I just hope the matches between us are respected. Sometimes in some matches there are not great comments towards me in regards of the war. It is like this in the social media sometimes that things are turned around a little bit,” she said.Story continues below this adSvitolina, a vocal critic of the invasion of her country that started in 2022, continued the practice of refusing to shake hands with players from Russia and Belarus. They also don’t take pre-match photographs with each other.