Marta Kostyuk (38 WTA) was eliminated in the second round of WTA Miami, and at the end of the match, the athlete from Ukraine refused to shake the hand of her opponent from Russia.

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Marta Kostyuk refused to shake the hand of her rival from Russia Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Potapova (Miami’s 27th seed) won the match after a convincing 6-1, 6-3 victory.

At the end of the match, which lasted one hour and 16 minutes, Marta Kostiuk refused to shake the hand of her opponent from Russia.

When Potapova approached to shake the referee’s hand, Marta was already near the bag, her back to her opponent.

“I wanted a meeting with the board of directors (WTA circuit number), but I didn’t get one. No answer, nothing, just silence,” Kostyuk told journalists present in Miami.

Actually, Marta Kostyuk is not the first such gesture, the athlete from Ukraine refused to shake the hand of Varvara Grachova (from Russia) after winning the WTA tournament in Austin (category WTA 250).

“I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine and all the people who are currently fighting and dying. Obviously, this is a very special moment for me,” he said Marta Kostyuk at that moment before lifting the championship cup.

The Miami Open takes place from March 21 to April 2 on hard, is part of the “WTA 1000” category and has a total prize pool of $8,800,000. There are 96 players in the main draw, and the reigning champion is Iga Svyatek.

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