A quick however awkward second involving Elena Rybakina and David Renker on the Indian Wells tennis complicated has gone viral. During the trophy presentation and photograph session, Renker appeared to put his arm round Rybakina’s waist. The tennis star was seen politely nudging the hand away.
The incident occurred following the Eisenhower Cup combined doubles exhibition occasion forward of the celebrated BNP Paribas Open in California. Rybakina and American companion Taylor Fritz received the occasion, defeating Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien within the last.
Read extra: Rybakina holds off Baptiste in testing Indian Wells opener
Who is David Renker?
David Renker is the senior vp at Eisenhower Health, a medical group that sponsors the Eisenhower Cup charity exhibition at Indian Wells.
Renker was taking part within the trophy presentation as a part of the occasion’s sponsorship actions. The Eisenhower Cup is a high-profile combined doubles exhibition that raises funds for charitable initiatives and is held yearly throughout the lead-up to the BNP Paribas Open, sometimes called tennis’s “fifth Grand Slam.”
As photos were taken with the champions and sponsors, Renker appeared to place his arm around Rybakina’s waist. Rybakina, though she was smiling for the cameras, seemingly nudged his hand away. The Kazakh ace also later glanced at Renker, who seemed to immediately take a step away from her.
Rybakina or Renker have not yet responded to the viral clip.
Read more: Elena Rybakina sets up final with Aryna Sabalenka at Australian Open
Fans react
Tennis enthusiasts and fans reacted to the incident after videos went viral.
A tennis fan on X called for investigation into the matter and wrote, “Where are the WTA, Pam Shriver and the other woke pundits now. They allegedly care about Rybakina. This old fella is clearly inappropriately touching Elena.”
The consumer additionally shared the image of one other angle of the incident that exhibits Renker’s hand inappropriately positioned under Rybakina’s waist.
HT cannot independently verify the origins of the image shared by the X account.
Another consumer, Mathias Degardin, wrote on X, “They won’t say anything because this man is a billionaire and gives lot of money to tennis. They are hypocrite coward.”
Another consumer praised Elena for swatting away Rekner’s hand and wrote, “Nothing better than seeing a woman that knows how to stand for something, especially herself!”
