Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk refused to shake the hand of her Belarusian opponent after their US Open match stating she had not publicly condemned the war in her country.
Belarusian Victoria Azarenka had won their second round match 6-2,6-3 and said she was not surprised by the move, but she wants to help Ukrainian players.
Former world number one Azarenka has previously had a friendly relationship with her country's president of Alexander Lukashenko, a key ally of Vladimir Putin. Kostyuk criticised her Belarusian opponent for not condemning the war publicly. Talking about the handshake refusal after her defeat Kostyuk said: "I just don't think it's the right thing to do in the circumstances I'm in right now.
"I don't know any single person who condemned the war publicly, and the actions of their government so I don't feel like I can support this. We had a great match, don't get me wrong. She's a great competitor, I respect her as an athlete, but that has nothing to do with her being a human being.
"People who didn't watch the match will probably slam me and tell me, 'She's such a b***h, thank God Vika beat her, she talks too much, and it was a fair score'. But it was honestly a super close match."
Azarenka previously stated that she was devastated by the suffering of Ukrainian people amid the Russian invasion.
Russian and Belarusian players were banned from Wimbledon and the build-up tournaments due to their country's war involvement, but have otherwise been allowed to play under a neutral flag, to the disgust of Ukrainian players.
Azarenka, ranked 26th in the world, progressed into the US Open third round and said she had reached out to Ukrainian players offering her help.
Azarenka added: "I wasn't surprised. I always shake hands with my opponents. I had the same situation with (Ukrainian Dayana) Yastremska in Washington. I just move on. I cannot force anybody to shake my hand. It's not the most important thing in the world right now.
"I never had a close relationship with Marta. I have reached out to all the (Ukrainian) players that I personally know and I still have a good relationship with. I don't feel that forcing myself to speak to somebody who maybe doesn't want to speak to me for different reasons is the right approach. But I offered.
"I know she's going through a lot of difficult situations. It's not easy to handle. From my perspective, I wish she had somebody who guided her a little bit better."
Kostyuk had wanted to meet Azarenka on Wednesday to explain she would not shake her hand but the players were not at Flushing Meadows at the same time.
On the eve of the US Open, Kostyuk revealed she had declined to take part in a fundraiser for Ukraine at Flushing Meadows because Azarenka had been due to participate, although she was subsequently excluded from the event.
"My nation is being killed daily," added Kostyuk. "Imagine there is World War Two and there is a fundraiser for Jewish people and a German player wants to play. During the war, not 70 years after the war. I don't think Jewish people would understand."
