Marta Kostyuk BLUNTLY claims she doesn’t have any respect for Aryna Sabalenka despite her call for peace ahead of highly anticipated first-round clash at French Open

Sabalenka's continuous interaction with Russian media and residence in the aggressor states has erked Kostyuk.


Marta Kostyuk BLUNTLY claims she doesn’t have any respect for Aryna Sabalenka despite her call for peace ahead of highly anticipated first-round clash at French Open

Marta Kostyuk and Aryna Sabalenka (Image Credits: BTU and Sports Tiger)

Aryna Sabalenka and Marta Kostyuk will be facing each other in the first round at the Roland Garros. This will be their second meeting since the Dubai Championships last year. During her conversation with BTU (Ukrainian Tennis), Kostyuk boldly criticized the Belarussian for continuing her interaction with the Russian media.

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The World No.39 had a ‘somewhat’ satisfactory start this year. At the Australian Open, Kostyuk faced a third-round exit at the hands of Jessica Pegula. However, her pairing with Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the doubles category advanced to the semi-finals of the first major. But the duo faced defeat at the hands of Czech players, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

The Ukrainian achieved her first title of the year at the ATX Open after her victorious triumph over Varvara Gracheva. With the start of the clay tours, Kostyuk faced early upsets at both the Madrid and Italian Open.

At the Roland Garros, the 20-year-old has opened her main draw with a first-round meeting with Sabalenka. Looking at their WTA Head2Head, the World No.2 leads the record by 1-0, after her round of 32 victory over Kostyuk at the Dubai Championships.

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During her interview with BTU, the World No.39 responded to the statement made by the Belarussian. Kostyuk said that she has ‘no respect’ for the 25-year-old, because of her continuous interaction with Russian media and residence in the aggressor states.

Also read: Elina Svitolina turns political calling for Ukraine to ‘win the war’ against Russia during her prize acceptance speech after her title triumph in Strasbourg

Aryna Sabalenka ‘unfazed’ by the Ukrainian hate towards Russian and Belarussian players

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Image Credits: Tennis.com and Reuters

The World No.2 had an incredible start this year. She claimed her maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open. With the start of the clay tours, the Belarussian reached the final of the Stuttgart Open. However, she fell short of the brilliant performance of Iga Swiatek. At Madrid, Sabalenka outperformed the World No.1 to claim her first clay court title of the season. Later, at the Rome Open, the 25-year-old faced a first-round exit at the hands of Sofia Kenin.

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While speaking at the media conference, Sabalenka said that she understands the sentiment of the Ukrainian players but would like to keep sports separate from politics. The 25-year-old added that she is okay with the ‘no handshake’ policy and couldn’t change the nationality-based hate directed towards her. “I don’t want to waste my energy on this kind of stuff, you know. This is like, it’s not about—it’s none of my business, you know. So, if she hates me, okay. I can’t do anything about that,” she said.

Sabalenka earlier faced a quarter-finals defeat in the Miami Open, at the hands of Sorana Cirstea.

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