In the Australian Open women's semifinal between Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina, a 10-year-old ball kid was caught in the middle of geopolitical tensions when the players posed for separate photos. Svitolina, protesting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, refused a pre-match photo and post-match handshake with the Belarusian Sabalenka. The girl's parents expressed concern over the awkward situation, calling for politics to stay out of children's dreams.
The Australian Open semifinal on January 29, 2026, highlighted the ongoing impact of international politics on tennis, particularly affecting young participants. During the pre-match coin toss tradition, 10-year-old Ava Sultana, attending a national junior tennis camp, was supposed to pose for a group photo with World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Instead, the players took separate pictures, leaving Ava confused despite her excitement.
Ava's mother, Christina Sultana, shared her perspective with World Wide Sports, noting, “(Ava is) living out her dream and her best life there, but I’m sure she had questions for her coaches... as to why (the players) were separate.” She added, “She’s seen players on other days, she watches tennis avidly, so she would have been like ‘why did they do separate photos?' She’s a developing, future tennis star and we don’t really need this divide. Keep politics separate. Let the kids live out their dreams and aspire to these people.”
Her father, William Sultana, and Christina emphasized that while Ava was not upset, the incident caught them off guard. Christina further remarked, “That’s not even an on-court political thing; it’s something totally separate to tennis. I think the fact they put kids in the middle of it, they should probably address these things so it’s not an awkward situation on court and then it turns into something.” She described the moment: “The kids don’t understand the background of it. They go, ‘Why didn’t they want to have a photo together? Why did she quickly walk away?’ Sabalenka took the time and put her arm around her and took a moment, then Svitolina kind of just quickly put her arm around and then walked off. It was quite awkward.”
This episode stems from the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, prompting Ukrainian players like Svitolina to avoid interactions with Russian and Belarusian athletes since the 2022 invasion. Svitolina has maintained her stance, stating there will be no change “until Russian troops are out of Ukraine.” Sabalenka, who opposes the war, responded respectfully post-match: “I’m not focusing on that, and they’ve been doing it for so long. It’s their decision and I respect that and I have time right now to respect her.”
To prevent disruption, organizers displayed a message: “At the conclusion of the match, there will be no handshake between the players. We appreciate your respect for both athletes during and following the match.” Svitolina's actions, though previously met with boos, continue as a form of protest, with the tournament supporting her choice.
