“This was certainly a mistake, which Lisa very much regrets and assures that she will never allow anything like that again.
In fact, she is a sincere patriot of Ukraine, she has always been like that, is and will remain in the future,” the press service of the Tennis Federation of Ukraine (FTU) quotes Kotlyar.
According to him, 16-year-old Elizabeth does not yet have real experience of performing at Grand Slam tournaments.
“Emotions were overwhelming, so she did not fully control her behavior.
I automatically performed the post-match ritual, not realizing that a Russian representative was standing behind the net,” added Father Kotlyar.
Athletes from Ukraine refuse to welcome Russians and Belarusians to international competitions after the start of the SVO.
Mincheva and Kotlyar shook hands after their first round match at the 2024 Australian Open.
The meeting ended with a score of 6:2, 6:4 in favor of the Russian.
Earlier, Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremskaya did not shake hands with tennis player Varvara Gracheva, who plays for France, after the second round match of the Australian Open.