Marta Kostyuk Opens Up About Online Abuse After Emotional Ukraine Speech in Brisbane: “I Cried for 30 Minutes at 2 in the Morning”
Marta Kostyuk suffered a three-set defeat at the hands of Elsa Jacquemot in the first round of the Australian Open.
Follow Us
Marta Kostyuk (Image via X/Jose Morgado)
Marta Kostyuk was greatly hurt by all the online abuses she received after her emotional runner-up speech at the Brisbane International. Kostyuk, following her 6-4, 6-3 defeat to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, mentioned Russia’s strike at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that left the Kyiv people without electricity and heat in the freezing winter.
Kostyuk was criticized by some sections of the tennis community, who accused her of making tennis political. The Ukrainian ace did not pose for the customary pictures with Sabalenka before and after the match, and as expected, didn’t shake hands with the Belarusian as a gesture of solidarity.
The 23-year-old also didn’t mention Sabalenka during the speech and was censured by the fans who felt Kostyuk should have acknowledged the World No.1, as she is not responsible for the war. Kostyuk, during her interview with Tribuna, opened up about how such negative comments affected her.
I opened Twitter. I read all this beauty that people wrote. That night, I slept very badly. I went to bed at 4 in the morning, I cried for about 30 minutes at 2 in the morning. For me, it is still so shocking and so incomprehensible. How can… I have many questions, but the most important one, probably: how can you say that I politicized something if I didn’t say a word about the war? I didn’t say the word ‘war’, I didn’t mention Russia, I didn’t mention Belarus.
It was Sabalenka’s fifth consecutive victory over Kostyuk in as many matches. Kostyuk, who has so far featured in four finals, was chasing the second title of her career.
People started writing to me like this – it was just a shock for me. Then I talked to my mother. They started writing to me, like: ‘You earned the prize – send it to your sister so she doesn’t freeze’, ‘You’re a millionaire, take your family out of Ukraine’.
Marta Kostyuk added
Since winning her career’s first title at the 2023 ATX Open, Kostyuk has lost three consecutive finals. For Sabalenka, the title was her career’s 22nd win.
Sabalenka has already started her campaign in the ongoing Australian Open, securing a 6-4, 6-1 win against Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah. The four-time Grand Slam champion is chasing her third singles title at Melbourne Park after wins in 2023 and 2024. Last year, Madison Keys beat her in the final, denying the three-peat.
Elsa Jacquemot ends Marta Kostyuk’s Australian Open campaign
France’s Elsa Jacquemot caused the first upset of the Australian Open after knocking out 20th seed Marta Kostyuk 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(7) in the first round. Kostyuk produced her best Major performance at the 2024 Australian Open by reaching the quarterfinals.
It was the first triple-break match in the Melbourne Slam as well as the fifth triple-tiebreak Grand Slam match in the Open Era. En route to the three-hour, 31-minute win, the World No.60 saved one match point.
It was also Jacquemot’s career’s second top 20 win, with the match being the longest one of the season so far. Prior to upsetting Kostyuk, Jacquemot lost her first two matches of the season. Ajla Tomljanovic knocked her out of the Brisbane Open opening round, while Magdalena Frech knocked her out of the Hobart International opening round.
The 22-year-old will next be locking horns with Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, who came from a set down to eliminate Beatriz Haddad Maia in her opening-round match. Prior to her clash with Kostyuk, Jacquemot had never played a main draw match at Melbourne Park. She made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2020 French Open and produced her best performance when she reached the third round last year.
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)