World No. 3 Elena Rybakina experienced an awkward moment during the trophy presentation at the Eisenhower Cup exhibition in Indian Wells on Wednesday. A video surfaced on Reddit showing the Senior Vice President of Eisenhower Health, David Renker, placing his arm around Rybakina during the photo shoot, and the reigning Australian Open champion politely nudging his hand away.
Rybakina, along with her mixed doubles partner Taylor Fritz, had secured back-to-back wins at the event after beating the mixed doubles pairing of Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien on Wednesday. In addition to their trophies, Fritz and Rybakina also received $200,000 in prize money.
After the incident was captured on camera, the trophy presenter quickly withdrew his hand and stepped back. At the same time, the other trophy presenter also stepped back while holding the prize money check.
The video has since gone viral on social media, drawing criticism from fans. Some fans were quick to applaud Rybakina’s swift, smooth actions in removing the presenter’s hand from herself.
“She didn’t even hesitate for a second before doing it, that’s our ice queen!! Nicely done,” one fan commented.
“The way she did it so quickly and smoothly makes me realize that she gets this often (creeps touching her) and that is infuriating,” another fan commented.
“People are too comfortable touching people unnecessarily. Rybakina respectfully displayed her boundaries,” yet another fan commented.
Some other fans lashed out at the presenter for overstepping his boundaries and making Rybakina uncomfortable momentarily.
“It’s always the rich old guys,” one fan commented.
“Wtf??? I sure am getting sick of these old ass creeps,” another fan commented.
“Gross,” yet another fan commented.
Despite the uncomfortable moment, the Kazakhstani star kept a happy face and even expressed her hopes of repeating the feat in the singles event later. “I’m super happy. Hopefully, I can do the same thing in singles,” Rybakina said.
Elena Rybakina Eager To Begin Her Quest in Indian Wells
Rybakina’s round of 64 opponent for the Indian Wells Open (WTA 1000) has yet to be decided, as the round of 128 matches continue through Wednesday and Thursday. The two-time Grand Slam champion will be eyeing silverware in California at the end of the 12-day tournament.
The Kazakh star, after a disappointing Middle East swing, where she lost to Victoria Mboko in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open and withdrew from her round-of-16 match at the Dubai Open due to an injury.
The event, unofficially known as the fifth Grand Slam of the year, is set to feature all the top names in women’s tennis, making it a worthwhile spectacle for tennis fans.
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