Svitolina had warned she would not shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year, which it calls a 'special military operation'.
"I don't know, to be fair, what she was waiting for, because my statements were clear enough about the handshake," Svitolina, who was booed by the crowd as she walked straight to her bench after losing the match 6-4 6-4, told a press conference.
"I was expecting that and it was not a surprise for me," she said of the jeers, which she also received when not shaking hands with Russia's Daria Kasatkina in the previous round.
Asked if world number two Sabalenka was looking to inflame the situation by standing at the net instead of also walking back to her bench, Svitolina said: "Yeah, I think so."
"My initial reaction, was like, what are you doing? Because, in all my press conferences I made my position clear.
"Maybe she's not on social media during the tournaments, but it is pretty clear. I made multiple statements that I'm not shaking hands, and she played obviously Marta (Kostyuk of Ukraine) as well in the first round. So it's quite simple."
Sabalenka skipped her two previous press conferences after being earlier grilled on her personal stance on the war as her country is a key staging area for Russia's operations.
The Belarusian said she did not feel safe at her press conferences and was not sanctioned by tennis authorities, which Svitolina found puzzling.
"Definitely I think it should be equal for everyone. Like, for example, why (Japan's) Naomi (Osaka) got fined last time and this time there is no fine for the player, who also skips the press conference," she said.
"So this is like, if there would be no fine for Naomi, maybe it would be different but, you know, it should be equal for every situation."
In 2021, former world number one Osaka was fined $15,000 for skipping a post-match press conference at the French Open and threatened with tough sanctions by the board of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
The Japanese player subsequently withdrew from the tournament citing mental health concerns and later said she had been battling depression and anxiety for years.
Sabalenka said Svitolina deserved respect from the crowd and should not be booed for not shaking her hand.
"I think she didn't deserve all these boos," the Australian Open winner, said.
"I'm giving such a big respect to her what she's doing after giving birth. It's impressive and I'm really impressed by what she's doing. I give big respect to her."
I don't support the war or Lukashenko, says Sabalenka
Sabalenka said on Tuesday at the French Open that she did not want her country to be in any conflict and did not support the war in Ukraine, distancing herself from President Alexander Lukashenko.
"I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support the war," Sabalenka told reporters after her quarter-final victory over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.
"I don't support war, meaning I don't support (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko right now."
Svitolina she did not feel safe enough to talk to the media last week.
"I really felt bad not coming here. I couldn't sleep. Like all those bad feelings was in my head, I couldn't fall asleep. I felt really bad not coming here," Sabalenka said.
"I don't regret the decisions. I felt really disrespected, and I felt really bad. Grand Slam, it's enough pressure to handle, and I just tried to focus on myself, on my game," she said.
"I really hope that you guys will understand me, my feelings. You know that I really respect all of you... You can ask whatever you want. You will get all the information.
"But in the last press conference, I felt like my press conference became a political TV show, and I'm not expert in politics. I'm just a tennis player."
Lukashenko, Russian president Vladimir Putin's staunchest ally among its neighbours, celebrated Sabalenka's Australian Open victory in January and said recently that people knew which country she hailed from even if she was playing under a neutral flag.
Sabalenka, who has met Lukashenko, had refused to comment when asked if she personally condemned the war.
"We played a lot of Fed Cups in Belarus. He was in our matches taking pictures with us after the match. Nothing bad was happening that time in Belarus or in Ukraine or in Russia," she said.
Sabalenka was asked if she felt safe during Tuesday's press conference.
"Yes, I do," she said. "Probably because I had a few days to switch off, few days to bring myself together. That's why I feel safer. And nobody's putting words in my mouth, so that's another reason."
