Elena Rybakina removes the presenter’s hand from her back in an awkward position
Elena Rybakina was seen pushing the medalist’s hand away from her body during an awkward moment in Indian Wells.
Australian Open champion and doubles partner Taylor Fritz won the Eisenhower Cup exhibition event on Tuesday night on the eve of the prestigious California tournament.
Fritz and Rybakina won the showpiece event respectively after defeating Americans Amanda Anisimova and Mfundi Tien in the final.
During the post-match festivities, Fritz and Rybakina were awarded a $200,000 check and presented with individual trophies.
After receiving their awards, the pair took pictures with the sponsors of the tournament in front of the cameras.
During the photo shoot, David Renker, Senior Vice President of Eisenhower Health, was seen putting his arm behind Rybakina.
The Kazakhstani champion was seen politely removing Renker’s hand as the cameras continued to roll.
After Rybakina quickly flashed in his direction, Renker took a step back at the same time the other medalist also retreated from his position next to Fritz.
The incident caused a storm on social media with pictures that went viral on the internet.
A clip on Reddit caused a storm of comments while one video shared on X went viral before being taken down.
Rybakina was all smiles after the event and celebrated the victory by writing on Instagram that she and Fritz had their lips raised.
“I’m very happy. I hope I can do the same thing in singles,” Rybakina said afterwards.
He will start his campaign in the tennis match called “fifth grand slam” in the desert of California on Saturday.
All the big names play in the ATP and WTA Masters 1000 tournaments, including Aryna Sabalenka, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Spain’s Alcaraz, 22, made history last month when he lifted the Australian Open title to become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam.
He won the Qatar Open to arrive stateside riding a 12-match winning streak to start the year.
The top seed could face a tough second-round opener against former world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov or in-form left-hander Terence Atmane, with third-seeded Djokovic also in his half of the draw.
Moni will play Australia’s James Duckworth or Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina, who faced each other on Thursday as the first round continues.
No. Women’s world No. 1 Sabalenka is chasing a first Indian Wells title, having fallen in the final last year to young Russian Mirra Andreeva and in 2023 to Rybakina – who defeated Sabalenka in the final of the Australian Open to claim her second Grand Slam title.
Sabalenka, back in action for the first time since that Australian Open disappointment, will open her campaign against Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume or US wild card Alycia Parks, with Japanese star Naomi Osaka and hard-hitting American Anisimova in her quarters.
