Marta Kostyuk refuses to play Russian teen star Mirra Andreeva as she makes a last-minute withdrawal at an exhibition event in France
Kostyuk has been criticized in the past for not shaking hands with Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka.
Mirra Andreeva (L), Marta Kostyuk (R) (Sources: Wimbledon/X)
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk refused to face Mirra Andreeva in the final Negometal Open de Bourg-de-Peage and pulled out of the tournament. A spokesperson of the exhibition tournament in France confirmed that the geopolitical situation of Russia and Ukraine is what led Kostyuk to take the decision. What transpired after she pulled out of the tournament was even more surprising.
The tournament started on 15th December and players like Alex de-Minaur, Adrian Mannarino, David Goffin, and Lucas Pouille participated in the men’s draw, while Mirra Andreeva, Varvara Gracheva, and Donna Vekic participated in the women’s draw. After Vekic pulled out of the tournament, she was replaced by Marta Kostyuk.
Generally, Ukrainian players play against Russians. They just do not shake hands before or after the matches. This, however, was an exhibition match. Kostyuk was not bound to play so she decided to pull out of the match.
Due to reasons beyond our will and given the geopolitical context in Ukraine, Marta Kostyuk will not be able to compete in the final of the 6th edition of Negometal Open.the organizers said in a translated statement. (H/T: Daily Express)
Kostyuk won the 2023 ATX Open. Most recently, she appeared in the China Open where she reached the round of 16. She lost to Elena Rybakina in the very first round of the 2023 US Open.
Mirra Andreeva had to play a male player in the final
The organizers of the Negometal Open de Bourg-de-Peage announced Frenchman Yanis Ghazouani Durand as the replacement for Marta Kostyuk due to the inability to find a women’s tennis player at such short notice. It led to a very unfamiliar situation and was sort of a throwback to the ‘Battle of the sexes’ between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
We've done our best to activate our network of professional players, but the time is unfortunately too short to find a replacement. So we took the decision to compete our Peageois Yanis Ghazouani Durand against the young prodigy Mirra Andreeva.the organizers said
Mirra Andreeva got outmuscled in the match as she lost it 7-5, 6-2. Ghazouani Durand has a world ranking of 1145 on the ATP Tour and No. 74 on the ITF circuit. Mirra started off well against the Frenchman, but could not keep up the momentum.
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Rishab Dutta
(794 Articles Published)