Elina Svitolina snubs Mirra Andreeva in speech after losing WTA Finals final

Detailed summary

Elina Svitolina refused to mention Russia's Mirra Andreeva after the Ukrainian lost the final of the WTA Finals.

Elina Svitolina did not once mention Mirra Andreeva in her runner-up speech after losing the final of the WTA Finals. The Ukrainian was beaten 7-5, 6-3 by the Russian teenager, who won the season-ending tournament on debut without dropping a single set across five matches. Svitolina makes a habit of not shaking hands or taking pre-match photographs with any of her Russian opponents after the country's invasion of Ukraine four years ago, which has led to the bloodiest war in Europe since World War Two, killing over 400,000 people.

World No.6 Svitolina said post-match in California: "It was a great week for me. To be fair, after the first match, I was not expecting to play here in the final. Really, really happy to get this chance. Unfortunately it didn't go my way but I gave it [my] all.

"I just want to say thank you so much for all the support during this week. All the hard work, it was the last match of the season so it motivates me to go to the pre-season and try my best next year."

Asked about her four-year-old daughter Skai, Svitolina then added: "She is probably still awake and going to ask me why I didn't win today! I'm really, really happy to be in great form and coming back after pregnancy.

"Hopefully it inspires some ladies and athletes around the world to believe that it's possible. Of course, I want to say thank you also to people in Ukraine for supporting me and being on this journey with me. Slava Ukraini!"

Although Svitolina did not mention Andreeva, the 19-year-old winner made a point of celebrating her opponent during her own speech.

After being asked a question about her season, having also won the French Open in June, world No.3 Andreeva replied: "I will get back to that. You didn't ask me that question but first I wanted to congratulate Elina and the team for an amazing week.

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"You've had an amazing season.

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