There are times when politics takes over sports, and the Australian Open semi-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina was one of them. The tension went beyond the match, as Svitolina refrained from shaking the Belarusian’s hand after the match and posing for photos beforehand. And it also dragged a 10-year-old girl into the middle of it.

As part of the Australian Open’s pre-match tradition, kids often get the honor of tossing the coin and standing with both players for a customary photo. For this semi-final, that role went to 10-year-old Ava Sultana, but instead of one shared photo, Ava took two separate pictures with Sabalenka and Svitolina.

“(Ava is) living out her dream and her best life there, but I’m sure she had questions for her coaches and the people looking after her (at the tennis camp) as to why (the players) were separate,”Ava’s mother, Christina Sultana, said to World Wide Sports.

“She’s seen players on other days, she watches tennis avidly, so she would have been like ‘why did they do separate photos?'” she continued. “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.”

Ava was in Australia as part of a national junior tennis camp, dreaming of one day competing in the sport’s biggest leagues herself. So when the moment didn’t play out as expected, it caught her mother and father, William, off guard. Her parents said that while Ava wasn’t upset, she certainly would have been confused.

“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,” continued Christina.

The war between Ukraine and Russia has now entered its fourth year, and Ukrainian players have often abstained from interacting with their Russian or Belarusian counterparts ever since.

“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,” said Christina.

As for the lack of interaction, even though Elina Svitolina has been booed for it before, she’s stuck to her decision, vocal about the toll it takes on her to compete against Russian and Belarusian players. And this time, the Australian Open also respected her choice, requesting the audience to also do the same.

When international politics come to the fore during the Elina Svitolina – Aryna Sabalenka match

The 2026 Australian Open had no shortage of moments where politics spilled onto the sporting stage. And the Ava Sultana episode wasn’t an isolated one. That same semi-final saw Elina Svitolina once again refuse to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka after the match.

It’s a stance Svitolina, along with other Ukrainian players, has maintained in protest against the war and Belarus’ support of Russia. She’s been clear that there will be no change “until Russian troops are out of Ukraine.”

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While Sabalenka has publicly stated that she doesn’t support the war, she also clarified that she understood and respected Svitolina’s decision.

“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 and [in the] on-court interview,” said Sabalenka afterward.

To avoid confusion or booing, tournament organizers even put out a message on the big screen before the match ended: “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.”