Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Ostapenko had an awkward exchange after a match at the 2024 Qatar Open, and the Belarusian said her opponent was entirely to blame.
Azarenka has a resounding 5-0 record against Ostapenko. It is a reversal of Ostapenko triumphing in all five matches against Iga Swiatek, including hammering the former WTA world No. 1 at last month’s 2025 Qatar Open.
Three of Azarenka’s victories over Ostapenko were in the opening two months of the 2024 season. She narrowly won in three sets at the Brisbane International before prevailing in straight sets at the Australian Open.
Ostapenko appeared mentally impacted by those defeats in their match a few weeks later at the Qatar Open. Azarenka only dropped three games and never looked in danger throughout the contest in Doha.
The mercurial Ostapenko, who is prone to outbursts on the court and often takes defeats badly, did not want to shake hands with Azarenka. Instead, she put her racket up, expecting the former world No. 1 to respond by tapping it with hers.
Tapping rackets was how ATP and WTA players greeted each other at the net during the COVID-19 pandemic when players did not want to make physical contact with each other in case the virus was spread.
However, it has been a few years since players did that. Ostapenko choosing to do it when she was free to shake hands with Azarenka seemed disrespectful and was not received well by Azarenka.
The veteran refused to tap rackets with Ostapenko and questioned what she was doing. The Latvian responded by ignoring Azarenka, walking away, and shaking hands with the umpire without another word.
Azarenka reflected on that moment during an interview on Daria Kasatkina’s YouTube channel. She said touching rackets was a bizarre thing for another player to do in 2024 and then accused Ostapenko of acting like “a b.”
“I can say it’s not my problem. It was her problem. I don’t know what she wanted me to do with the racket she gave me. She can put it in another place. Who gives the racket in 2024? Somebody who acts like a ‘b’ I’ll be a ‘b’ too. I won’t start it, but if you want to play, let’s play.”
Ostapenko’s actions often divide opinion, with some finding them amusing and others thinking she strays over the line and is disrespectful to those on the other side of the net.
35-year-old Azarenka is at a point in her outstanding career where she is not trying to impress anyone and can freely say what she wants. Her description of Ostapenko in such brutal terms proves this.
Azarenka has always had the last laugh against Ostapenko, but Swiatek became much more frustrated in her defeat to the former French Open champion in Doha. The Pole slammed her racket onto the ground, which elicited laughter from Ostapenko.
Azarenka speaking plainly about Ostapenko might make the Latvian even more desperate to beat her for the first time. It remains to be seen whether she will get a chance before the end of Azarenka’s career.
