Doubles star Lyudmyla Kichenok has claimed that Kristina Mladenovic “threatened” her during their third-round women’s doubles match at the Australian Open.
Fans noticed that Kichenok refused to shake the Frenchwoman’s hand after losing the tie on Monday.
The doubles world No. 4 has now alleged that Mladenovic threatened her after accidentally being hit by a ball.
Kichenok and her partner Chan Hao-ching were the No. 5 seeds in the doubles draw but they suffered defeat to No. 9 pair Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai in round three.
After a close first set, Mladenovic and Zhang ran away with it, winning 7-6(3) 6-2. Kichenok did not shake Mladenovic’s hand at the net, instead trading words with her opponent, and she has now addressed the reason for her snub.
“I would like to clarify the situation that happened in my 3rd round AO match against Kristina Mladenovic,” the 32-year-old wrote in an Instagram story on Wednesday.
“Publicly accused of bad sportsmanship. I would like to say my word.
“I received very direct threat from my opponent after unintentionally hitting her with a tennis ball.
“The response to my numerous apologies was ‘You watch out next time’.”
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