Marta Kostyuk (WTA 52) has secured the final win at the WTA tournament in Austin, USA on Sunday. The twenty-year-old Ukrainian defeated the 22-year-old Russian Varvara Gracheva (WTA 88) in the final in Texas in two sets (6-3 and 7-5). However, it was the post-match scenes that stayed with me: an emotional Kostyuk burst into tears, fell to the ground, and refused to shake hands with Gracheva afterwards.
Sam VarewyckBron: BELGIAN
Kostyuk also spoke to the public in Austin after her victory. “I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine and all the people who are fighting and dying now. It is a very special moment for me,” said the young Ukrainian, who is not making a statement about the war in her homeland for the first time. At the Australian Open in January, she already declared that she would not shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents. At the US Open at the end of last year, she also refused to do so when she met the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka.
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