Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk mentioned she didn't respect her Belarus opponent for remaining silent about Russia's invasion

• Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk mentioned she does not respect her Belarus opponent Aryna Sabalenka.
• Kostyuk misplaced to Sabalenka on the French Open on Sunday and refused to shake her hand after the sport.
• Belarus is one in every of Russia’s few allies within the Ukraine warfare, having hosted troops and weapons for Putin.

Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk mentioned she does not respect her Belarusian opponent Aryna Sabalenka — and believes Sabalenka ought to converse out about her nation’s assist for Russia’s invasion.

Kostyuk, 20, criticized her opponent in a post-match interview, saying Sabalenka does not use her platform to talk out about Russia’s warfare in Ukraine and Belarus’ ongoing allyship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“To reject her duty of getting an opinion on an important issues on the earth I can’t respect that. She mentioned I hate her. I by no means mentioned publicly, nor privately, nor to anybody that I hate Aryna Sabalenka or any of the gamers,” Kostyuk mentioned. “I simply do not respect her due to her place on this scenario.” 

—The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 28, 2023

Kostyuk’s feedback got here after she was booed off the court docket for refusing to shake fingers with Sabalenka on Sunday in the course of the first spherical of the French Open. The 2 additionally didn’t full the standard pre-match picture collectively after the coin-toss, based on BBC Information. 

Sabalenka, world quantity 2, mentioned earlier than the match that she did not anticipate a handshake from Kostyuk and understands if the Ukrainian participant hates her, based on BBC Information. She additionally questioned her function in voicing an opinion on Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.

“I type of perceive why they aren’t shaking fingers. On the identical time, I really feel like sports activities should not be in politics, we’re simply athletes,” she mentioned, BBC reported. 

Movies confirmed Kostyuk, ranked 39 on the earth, avoiding Sabalenka after the Belarusian’s 6-3 6-2 win.

—NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 28, 2023

Kostyuk later mentioned individuals who booed her “ought to be truthfully embarrassed,” BBC Information reported. 

“I wish to see folks react to it in 10 years when the warfare is over. I feel they won’t really feel very nice about what they did,” she added, based on BBC. 

Belarus is one in every of Russia’s few allies within the Ukraine warfare, internet hosting troops and weapons for Putin because the early weeks of the invasion final February. This previous weekend, Belarus agreed to deploy Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons in its territory, Reuters reported.