Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk REFUSES to shake hands with Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova following defeat at the Miami open…adding to the ongoing tension in the women’s locker room
- Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Russia’s Anastasia Potapova
- The Ukrainian ignored her opponent following her defeat at the Miami Open
- The incident adds to the tension in the women’s locker room amid the war
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova after her defeat at the Miami Open.
The pair clashed in the second round of the tournament, which saw Potapova comfortably dispatch of Kostyuk 6-1, 6-1.
However, at the culmination of the match, the 20-year-old Ukrainian refused to take part in the usual post match handshakes and instead headed straight back to her seat, before making a hastily exit from court.
It left the victorious Potapova to walk over to the umpire alone and shake hands with the official before she made her own exit.
The incident added to the ongoing tension in the women’s locker-room between the Ukrainian contingent and the Russian and Belarusian players, amid the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Anastasia Potapova after her defeat in Miami
Russia’s Potapova is seen walking to the umpire alone after Kostyuk walked straight to her chair following the end of the match
The refusal added to the tension in the women’s locker room amid the war in Ukraine
Kostyuk had already made her feelings known upon arriving in America, and earlier this month refused to shake hands or have her photo taken with Russia’s Varvara Gracheva after beating her to win the ATX Open in Texas.
After the defeat, the world number 38 said about the refusal to shake hands: ‘Obviously there is tension – we’re not friends. We are at war at the moment.’
She also told press there had been no response from the WTA about a request from Ukrainian players to meet, stating: ‘
Yes, we wanted to have the meeting with the board and we didn’t get one. No reply, nothing, just silence.’
Her opponent Potapova hadn’t helped relations on tour after receiving a warning from the WTA for turning up to her Indian Wells match against Jessica Pegula wearing a Spartak Moscow football shirt.
Potapova was warned by the WTA last week for wearing a Spartak Moscow jersey on the court
However, Kostyuk refused to be drawn out on the WTA’s decision on her opponent’s choice of training shirt.
‘There are a lot of things that I don’t agree with that the WTA is doing.’ She added.
‘This is not going to change anything. I’ll just get more hate online. Whatever I say, I will get a lot of hate. I don’t know. You [can] give her a warning. You can suspend someone, I don’t know. I can’t comment on that really, it’s just funny.’
Following the win in Miami, Potapova will now face American Coco Gauff in the next round after she saw off Rebecca Marino with a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
