Genie Bouchard snubbed by Dayana Yastremska in ugly US Open qualifying scenes
The tennis world was waiting to see the reaction between the duo at US Open qualifying.
Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has been snubbed at the net from rival Dayana Yastremska after her controversial comments earlier this year about the Ukraine player. Bouchard and Yastremska share history after the Canadian former World No.5 called out her opponent following a win at the Madrid Open.
And Yastremska was clearly still harbouring anger towards Bouchard, which was clear following their US Open qualifying match. Yastremska one the match in a tight three-set clash to go one-step closer to qualifying for the grand slam.
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Bouchard hit her forehand into the net to seal the match for the Ukraine star. And Yastremska let out a roar in celebration. She then charged towards the chair umpire and shook hands. Within seconds, Yastremska had packed her bags and was on her way towards the locker room.
She then circled around quickly to take photos with a number of fans. Bouchard shook the hand of the umpire, before heading down the tunnel.
The ugly post-match encounter most likely comes after Bouchard took aim at Yastremska in a since-deleted tweet, where she accused the Ukraine tennis player of doping. Bouchard quickly deleted the inflammatory post, but not before fans took screenshots of it and shared it across the tennis world.
“There’s something about playing dopers in Madrid,” Bouchard wrote on the post that accompanied a photo of her celebrating the win over Yastremska back in April. The Canadian's explosive post was a clear shot at Yastremska - who was cleared of doping after being handed a provisional suspension in 2021 - and former rival Maria Sharapova, who the Canadian beat at the Madrid Open in 2017.
Sharapova famously served a 15-month suspension after being found guilty of using the banned substance meldonium in 2016.
Tennis fans divided over Eugenie Bouchard snub
Tennis fans were waiting for the post-match interaction between Yastremska and Bouchard in their first clash since the Canadian's comments. And the pair delivered with the Ukraine star's 'icy' cold stare towards her opponent saying it all. Fans labelled Yastremska's move as 'disrespectful', while others thought Bouchard didn't deserve a handshake.
the look Dayana gives her 💀💀 https://t.co/vSJEtYaVqq
— Ryan (@Some1NamedRyan) August 24, 2023
The way it looks to me, Yastremska was a disrespectful winner. She didn't even stop to give Eugenie a chance to shake her hand and then tried to quickly walk off court. https://t.co/HbfCpbOaKD pic.twitter.com/7bXCKQBjjb
— Philip T Boosey (@PhilipTBoosey) August 24, 2023
Not to be 😢 @geniebouchard got the win in Madrid, but today it was Yas’ turn. Could have gone either way, but Yastremska served too well at the end. Genie lost 1-6, 6-4, 4-6.
Yas didn’t shake hand👎….it was expected though 🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/l30gFZPxya— gritch (@Gritchtennis) August 24, 2023
Haha. Yastremska is not shaking hands with Bouchard after a controversy they had in Madrid. That shouldn’t be allowed. pic.twitter.com/Vo52VWQfvk
— Tennis World (@Tennis095038821) August 24, 2023
Woo boy!
If you were looking for an icy handshake between Dayana Yastremska & Genie Bouchard, you're outta luck
Because there was no handshake at all
Yastremska wins 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, then exits w/o acknowledging the Canadian who had mocked the Ukrainian's 2021 doping ban online pic.twitter.com/cvdUegAxNW— Tick Tock Tennis (@TickTockTennis) August 24, 2023
No handshake between Bouchard and Yastremska, who was off court in about three seconds lol
— Tony (@tjc05) August 24, 2023
Spicyyy. I love Genie but she probably had that coming!
— Christopher Black (@blacktopher) August 24, 2023
Bouchard was a former World No.5 back in 2014, but has recently struggled to make any grand slam main card draws. The 29-year-old was a Wimbledon junior champion and at the age of 20 a Wimbledon finalist.
She has reached a Roland Garros and Australian open semi-final, but her career has never really kicked-on. Bouchard currently sits at World No.216 and will not feature in the final grand slam of the year having lost to Yastremska.
The Ukraine star will now take on Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the final round of qualifying.
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