A Ukrainian tennis star who stormed to victory and then shrugged off a handshake with her Russian competitor in the WTA final dedicated her first major title win to her country last night.
Marta Kostyuk, 20, gave an emotional speech after her victory last night, paying tribute to those who are “fighting and dying” in Ukraine as it continues to be attacked by Putin’s forces.
Kiev-born Kostyuk defeated Russian player Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 7-5 to win her first title at the ATX Open in Austin, Texas on Sunday.
The Ukrainian sportswoman collapsed on the pitch and held her head in her hands as she burst into tears upon realizing she had won the match.
Defying custom, Kostyuk refused to shake hands with her 22-year-old Russian opponent at the net after taking the win.
Marta Kostyuk, 20, gave an emotional speech after her victory last night, paying tribute to those who are ‘fighting and dying’ in her homeland amid the ongoing invasion
After the game, she saw the referee shaking hands, but passed her opponent.
It comes after Kostyuk berated players from Russia and Belarus for not taking a stand against the war being waged in her home country.
At the awards ceremony, the Kiev native said, “Everyone who sits in the stands and everyone who watches, especially in Ukraine, I want to say Slava Ukraini.”
The Ukrainian phrase translates to “Glory to Ukraine,” and she paid tribute to those who fought and lived during the ruthless Russian invasion.
“In the position I am in now, it is very special to win this title.
“I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine and all the people who are fighting and dying now.”
The Ukrainian described the atmosphere of the event as ‘one of the nicest’ she had attended, adding that it felt like a ‘home tournament’.
Ranked No. 52 entering last week, the Ukrainian has now risen to a career high of No. 40 following her win.
The Ukrainian sportswoman collapsed on the pitch and covered her face as she appeared to burst into tears after winning the match
The victory was clearly an emotional one for Kostyuk as the war continues at home in Ukraine
Kostyuk, who was seeded eighth in the event, and the unseeded Gracheva, a Moscow native, both played in their first-ever tour-level title match.
Kostyuk regularly publishes updates on the war in her homeland and has been defiant in her criticism of Russian and Belarusian opponents since Putin’s troops were sent to Ukraine last year.
At the Australian Open in Melbourne in January, she was adamant she would turn down competitors who did not take a clear stand against the war.
“I haven’t changed about the war and everything that’s going on, touring,” Kostyuk said at the Open.
“Because people just saying they don’t want war makes us (Ukraine) sound like we want war. Of course we don’t want war either.’
At the awards ceremony, the Kiev native said, “Everyone who sits in the stands and everyone who watches, especially in Ukraine, I want to say Slava Ukraini.”
After the match, Kostyuk was seen shaking hands with the referee, but passed her opponent
Kostyuk ran past Gracheva after the game. The Ukrainian player has previously berated players from Russia and Belarus for not taking a stand against the war in Ukraine
Outside of matches, Kostyuk explained that she hardly spoke to Russian and Belarusian players during the tour.
“Whoever speaks out I think has every right to be on tour, but whoever doesn’t… I don’t think it’s just human,” she said.
‘I don’t really talk to anyone. I barely say hi to them.’
She first protested at the 2022 US Open in New York when she refused to shake hands with former world number one Viktoria Azarenka, 33, who is from Belarus.
Kostyuk defeated Russia’s Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 7-5 to win her first main tour title at the tournament in Austin, Texas, on Sunday
22-year-old Russian player Varvara Gracheva lost to Kostyuk in the WTA final. Pictured here during the semi-finals
Instead of shaking hands at the net, Kostyuk opted for a quick racket tap, as she felt it was inappropriate to shake hands given Azarenka’s failure to condemn the war.
“It was my choice — I don’t feel like I don’t know a single person who has publicly condemned the war, and their government’s actions, so I don’t feel I can support this,” she told ESPN on a press conference after the game
Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great competitor. But it has nothing to do with her being human,” Kostyuk added.
The death toll has risen to 13, according to Kurtiev, and rescuers continued to search for survivors in the rubble yesterday
Pictres from Saturday show rescuers carrying the body of a person found at a site of a residential building badly damaged by a recent Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia
The athlete has spoken out about the atrocities that have taken place in her country since Vladimir Putin sent in his troops just over a year ago, and has used social media to highlight the impact of Russian attacks.
Over the weekend, the tennis player again shared aerial footage showing the ruins to the left of Maryinka, a town in Donetsk where the frontline runs through what little remains of the town.
Kostyuk also retweeted photos of the aftermath of a Russian airstrike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine.
Today has been declared a day of mourning after a rocket hit a high-rise residential building on Thursday, City Council Secretary Anatoliy Kurtiev said.
Aerial footage reveals the ruins to the left of Maryinka, in Donetsk, where the front line runs through the small remnant of the city
The death toll has risen to 13, according to Kurtiev, and rescuers continued to search for survivors in the rubble yesterday.
Elsewhere in the embattled country, Russian forces continued their efforts to encircle the strategically important eastern city of Bakhmut.
The city in the Donbass region is “almost destroyed,” as is the besieged port city of Mariupol, as Russian troops surround it on three sides amid fierce street fighting.
The city, about 400 miles southeast of Kiev, has been a prime target of Moscow’s devastating wartime eastern offensive for months.
.