VIDEO. Australian Open: “Be careful next time”… A Ukrainian player accuses a French woman of having threatened her in the middle of a match

It's an unusual scene on the tennis circuit. After the match point which sealed her elimination from the women's doubles draw at the Australian Open, Lyudmyla Kichenok snubbed Kristina Mladenovic who was reaching out to her behind the net. However, she shook the hand of the Chinese Shuai Zhang, teammate of the Frenchwoman.

Two days after the meeting, the Ukrainian “clarified the situation” on Instagram. “I received very direct threats from my opponent during the match after unintentionally touching her with a tennis ball,” she assures. “The only response I received to my numerous apologies was: 'Be careful next time!'”

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Before justifying his choice not to shake hands: “I do not find it appropriate to show my respect by shaking the hand of a person who uses verbal threats. Period.”

Mladenovic's version

If Lyudmyla Kichenok wanted to react, it is because Kristina Mladenovic had already had the opportunity to give her version of the facts. Questioned on court after her doubles victory, the former world number 10 strongly criticized the behavior of her opponent.

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“If you want my honest opinion, I think the opposing team woke me up a little because they showed unsportsmanlike behavior during my service. It really pissed me off. That's a bit like that that the match has awakened,” said the Frenchwoman.