Watch: Donna Vekic refuses to shake hands with Lesia Tsurenko in Indian Wells

Donna Vekic refused to shake hands with Lesia Tsurenko following their Indian Wells match.

Vekic, seeded at No 29, had a first-round bye in Indian Wells.

On Friday, Vekic kicked off her Indian Wells campaign from the second round as Tsurenko recovered from a set down to beat the Croatian 2-6 6-2 6-2.

After the match, Vekic went straight to her bench while Tsurenko looked the Croatian’s way, seemingly wanting a handshake.

Why Vekic didn’t want to shake Tsurenko’s hand?

In late February, Vekic and Tsurenko clashed in the Monterrey first round.

Back then, Vekic was down by a set but had a 5-0 lead in the second set when Tsurenko retired.

Apparently, Tsurenko was again acting injured on the court but this time finished the match and managed to win.

Going into the match, Vekic was the favorite to beat Tsurenko, considering her start to the 2023 season.

In the first set, Vekic got broken in the first game before responding with three breaks on her own to win the opener.

After losing the first set, Tsurenko bounced back in the second set as she broke Vekic twice to send the match into a decider.

In the third set, Vekic had an early 2-0 lead before Tsurenko won the next six games to complete her comeback win.

For Vekic, it was a disappointing Indian Wells campaign.

Just a couple of days earlier, Vekic defeated Caroline Garcia in a thriller Monterrey final to lift her first title of the year.

“It’s been a great start of the year for me. If the title didnā€™t come now, I believe that it would have come soon. So Iā€™ve been playing good tennis, and I just need to keep working hard and hopefully stay healthy, and Iā€™m sure I will keep having good results,” Vekic said after winning Monterrey.

Vekic will now turn her focus on Miami.