MOSCOW, March 24 Russian tennis player Anastasia Potapova called the refusal expected Ukrainian Martha Kostyuk from traditional handshakes after the second round match at the WTA 1000 category tournament in Miami.
On Thursday, Kostyuk lost to Potapova in the second round with a score of 1:6, 3:6. After the game, the Ukrainian did not shake hands with the representative of Russia. Earlier, Kostyuk, after the final match at the tournament in Austin, refused the traditional handshake with the Russian woman Varvara Gracheva, as she did not condemn the special operation in Ukraine. At the 2022 US Open, Kostyuk did not shake hands with Belarusian tennis players Alexandra Sosnovich and Victoria Azarenka.
“I expected this. Obviously, this is her choice. I understand that I am here to play tennis, to forget about other things,” Potapova was quoted by the Daily Mail.
Earlier, Potapova entered the third round match at the Indian Wells tournament against American Jessica Pegula in a Spartak Moscow football club T-shirt, which caused outrage among some fans on social networks. The first racket of the world Pole Iga Sventek complained to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) about the appearance of a Russian woman in a red-and-white shirt. Potapova received a warning from the WTA for her actions.
«»There were no political statements in this jersey. I'm just a Spartak superfan since I was ten. My dad built part of the stadium for this team, so it's our family. We have a good relationship with them. I was very surprised because there was no malicious intent,» Potapova said.
Potapova also said that she really wants to play at Wimbledon, whose organizers last year refused to allow Russian and Belarusian tennis players to participate in the tournament, who have the right to take part in ATP and WTA tournaments in a neutral status.
«I dream about it because it's one of my favorite parts of the season. I can only pray and hope for it. If we can compete there, I'll be very happy,» added the Russian.