Tennis star Elena Rybakina removes man’s hand after awkward touch during post win celebration
Tennis fans are criticising an awkward moment that took place during a trophy presentation at Indian Wells after Kazakhstan star Elena Rybakina appeared to move an official’s hand away from her during the ceremony.
The incident occurred shortly after Rybakina and American player Taylor Fritz won the mixed doubles exhibition event known as the Eisenhower Cup in California. The pair secured the victory and were awarded a $200,000 prize cheque.
Following their win, both players stepped forward to receive individual trophies during a presentation ceremony. During that moment, David Renker, the senior vice president of Eisenhower Health, stood beside Rybakina as photos and video were being taken.
As the cameras rolled, Renker was seen placing his arm behind the 26-year-old tennis star. In the footage, Rybakina appeared to immediately move his hand away before turning to look in his direction. Renker then stepped back as the moment unfolded before the crowd and cameras.
The brief interaction quickly spread across social media, where many tennis fans discussed the moment and criticised the gesture. Several users on online forums and social platforms said the interaction looked uncomfortable.
“Looks awkward and completely off-balance,” said one fan on Reddit. Another commenter claimed the official tried to repeat the gesture. “He (Renker) tried to do it twice. No need to feel bad for him,” posted another. Some fans suggested that public presentations should maintain more personal space between officials and players.
“I just don’t think you have to go for the waist area for anyone. I think shoulder level is the way to go, regardless of gender,” offered a third. Despite the attention surrounding the moment, Rybakina has not publicly commented on the situation.
Instead, she shared several photos from the event on social media with her teammate Fritz, highlighting their win in the exhibition tournament. Away from the ceremony, Rybakina also addressed another topic widely debated in the tennis world this week.
Speaking with reporters at Indian Wells, the world No. 3 discussed the idea of women potentially playing five-set matches during the second week of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Currently, players on the WTA Tour receive the same prize money as their counterparts on the ATP Tour, even though women compete in best-of-three-set matches at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Rybakina expressed doubts about the proposed change. “I think it’s a huge [proposed] change, to be honest, even if it’s only second week,” Rybakina told reporters. “You start in one format and then it gets longer, so mentally you also need to be ready to play so many sets if it goes to that point.”
She also questioned whether longer matches would be appealing for fans. “I also don’t think it would be interesting for the people [fans], because maintaining the level for so many sets is going to be quite difficult.
“As a player, I would say I wouldn’t want to play three out of five, to be honest.” Rybakina is currently competing at Indian Wells, often referred to as the “fifth slam” in tennis, and is awaiting her second-round opponent in the women’s singles tournament.
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