{"id":791001,"date":"2026-05-12T11:56:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/791001\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T11:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:56:15","slug":"jelena-ostapenko-accuses-anna-kalinskaya-of-all-kinds-of-simulations-after-skipped-handshake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/791001\/","title":{"rendered":"Jelena Ostapenko accuses Anna Kalinskaya of \u2018all kinds of simulations\u2019 after skipped handshake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jelena Ostapenko<\/a> has said she was ready for \u201call kinds of simulations\u201d from Anna Kalinskaya<\/a> during their tense Italian Open<\/a> meeting Monday.<\/p>\n

The pair did not shake hands at the end after Ostapenko won 6-1, 6-2 to move into the quarterfinals. After missing a forehand drive volley into the net to end the match, Kalinskaya did not wait there for Ostapenko, as is convention.<\/p>\n

The Russian instead went straight to shake the umpire\u2019s hand, and then went to her chair. Their last meeting, at February\u2019s Dubai Tennis Championships, did end with a handshake, but a decidedly frosty one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was ready for all kinds of simulations with the physio calls and all these things,\u201d Ostapenko, 29, said in an interview with the WTA Tour following a tetchy match in which Kalinskaya, 27, took an off-court medical timeout at the end of the first set. \u201cShe\u2019s a tricky player that is trying to get you out of the rhythm when she starts losing. But the most important (thing) is that I\u2019m really proud of myself, the way I was able to manage all that, losing three games and playing a really good match.<\/p>\n

A representative for Kalinskaya did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

During the interview, Ostapenko also said that the non-handshake was her opponent\u2019s choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like there are so many great players and we are respecting each other,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that I can be emotional on the court, but at the end of the day, I respect the other players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of her 0-4 head-to-head record against Kalinskaya going into the match, Ostapenko added: \u201cI honestly didn\u2019t really care much. I know I\u2019m a better player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, has had plenty of run-ins with her opponents. No-look handshakes have become something of a signature<\/a>, with the first high-profile example coming at the 2017 U.S. Open, a few months after that Roland Garros title. Having lost to Russia\u2019s Daria Kasatkina, Ostapenko actively looked away from her opponent, prompting former world No 33 Mary Carillo to joke on Tennis Channel: \u201cNotice the frost on the fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“Notice the frost on the fingers.” \u2013 Mary Carillo
\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa@DKasatkina<\/a> def. \ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddfbJelena #Ostapenko<\/a> on Day 6.
The post-match handshake? ICY. \u2744\ufe0f#USOpen<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/n16FAW169G<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) September 3, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A couple of years ago, Ostapenko lost to Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka three times in the space of seven weeks. Those defeats were met with two no-look handshakes, Ostapenko holding out her racket rather than her hand on the other occasion. In a May 2024 interview, Ostapenko said of her non-handshakes with Azarenka: \u201cThere is a reason behind it.\u201d When asked whether they related to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, in which Belarus is a strategic ally, Ostapenko, who is Latvian with a Ukrainian father, said that \u201cthere are a few reasons for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most recently, Ostapenko was involved in an ugly incident last year<\/a> when, after losing to Taylor Townsend at the U.S. Open, she angrily confronted the American about not apologizing for a fortunate net cord and repeated the phrase \u201cyou have no education\u201d three times. Ostapenko apologized for the \u201cno education\u201d comments three days after the incident in a statement on social media that did not name or acknowledge Townsend.<\/p>\n

She will face Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s conqueror<\/a>, Sorana C\u00eerstea, in the last eight Tuesday.<\/p>\n