Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk talked about how Russian and Belarusian players intersect with their compatriots in locker rooms and hotels.
“Some wonder why we don’t smile at them: “We didn’t do anything wrong.” They don’t say anything bad, but they don’t say anything good either.”
20-year-old Kostyuk has repeatedly expressed the tension on the WTA tour due to the situation in Ukraine. She was one of the Ukrainian athletes who did not shake hands with the Russians and Belarusians after the matches.
Ukrainian tennis player Lyudmila Kicheno refused Shake hands with Russians Anastasia Potapova and Veronika Kudermetova after losing in a tournament in Stuttgart.
The Ukrainian teamed up with Elena Ostapenko from Latvia. Potapova and Kudermetova were stronger with scores of 3:6, 6:4, 10:6. Ostapenko followed protocol and greeted his opponents.
Recall that the Ministry of Sports of Ukraine previously prohibited its athletes from participating in competitions with athletes from Russia.