Kostyuk’s controversial celebration after beating Gracheva in Austin

The final of the Austin tournament left us an image for the controversy in the world of tennis after the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk defeated the Russian Varvara Gracheva.

As soon as she got the point that gave her the victory and her first title on the WTA circuit, Kostyuk began to cry on the track due to the emotion of the moment. However Kostyuk’s subsequent celebration has sparked some outrage in the tennis world as the Ukrainian tennis player refused to shake Gracheva’s hand or be photographed with her at the trophy ceremony.

The reason why Kostyuk did not want to greet Gracheva after the meeting is the war in Ukraine in which Russia invaded part of the Ukrainian territory in a conflict that is still active almost a year later. Notably Kostyuk has been one of the most active athletes when it comes to protesting against Russian athletes for the invasion of Ukraine and the fact that they did not speak out publicly about it.

The hug from two years ago

Kostyuk’s coldness with Gracheva after the final in Austin contrasts with the photographs that Jimmie48 Photography, one of the most famous players in women’s tennis, as Gracheva and Kostyuk greeted each other at the net after their match at Roland Garros. A greeting that was even more emotional, since both tennis players were chatting on the net before melting into a hug. Almost two years later, the war in Ukraine has caused nothing to remain of that hug and Kostyuk celebrated his first WTA title with a certain resentment towards Gracheva.