Tensions in the sporting world around the conflict in Ukraine spilled over into the tennis arena when the Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Anastasia Potapova after she was beaten 6-1, 6-3 by the Russian in their second-round match at the Miami Open, The Guardian reports.
It wasn’t the first time the war had made a recent impact in the tennis world as the game came after Potapova was warned by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for turning up to her Indian Wells match against Jessica Pegula while wearing a Spartak Moscow football shirt, the report noted.
"I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine and all who are fighting and dying right now" - Ukrainian @marta_kostyuk won her first @WTA title. She won over a Russian player and refused to shake her opponent's hand or take a joint photo. WTA pic.twitter.com/hMw0mjqFeR
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 6, 2023Kostyuk, who had also previously refused to shake hands with Russia’s Varvara Gracheva and Victoria Azarenka, from Russia’s ally Belarus, said “obviously there is tension – we’re not friends. We are at war at the moment.”
Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Varvara Gracheva, a Russian, after she won the ATX Open in Austin, Texas earlier this month. Kostyuk beat Gracheva 6-3, 7-5 to clinch her first career WTA title.
The 20-year-old Ukrainian ended up shaking the hand of the match umpire, but wouldn't shake the hand of Gracheva. Instead, she simply walked past Gracheva on two occasions.
