WTA Tour Victory: After winning her first WTA Tour championship in Texas, Russian opponent Varvara Gracheva is not given a handshake by Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk; Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Kostyuk has been vocal over the issue of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine beat Varvara Gracheva of Russia at the ATX Open in Texas, and she gave her first WTA Tour victory to “all the people who are fighting and dying” in the process.
In her first final, Kostyuk defeated Gracheva 6-3, 7-5, although she didn’t extend a handshake to her.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the 20-year-old has been vocal over the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to continue competing, arguing that those players should be banned unless they publicly oppose the conflict.
Assuring that it would not have been “the correct thing to do,” Kostyuk earlier declined to shake Belarusian Victoria Azarenka’s hand at the US Open in September.
Russia’s principal ally during the current conflict in Ukraine has been Belarus.
“Winning this title is incredibly special for me being in the position that I’m in right now,” Kostyuk said after defeating Gracheva.
“I wish to dedicate this book to Ukraine and to everyone who is now fighting and dying.”
Andrei Rublev of Russia made a peace call last week while competing in the Dubai Tennis Tournament.
Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the 25-year-old wrote “no war please” on a camera lens in the same competition in 2022.
“You cannot act like nothing is happening,” he stated after a year had passed. It is awful.
“It’s absurd that so many ordinary people are in pain and dying. The only thing I can hope for is that all nations will experience peace soon.”
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