The sharp response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hit the US Open on Thursday evening when Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk refused to shake fingers with Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka. Kostyuk misplaced in straight units and simply tapped his racket however the response was pre-planned earlier than the sport. She additionally messaged Azarenka that she wouldn’t shake fingers.
Kostyuk has been vocal in his perception that Russian and Belarusian gamers ought to be banned from the sport. In April, Kostyuk led a workforce of gamers from Ukraine, calling on tennis directors to ask gamers from Russia and Ukraine in the event that they help the warfare and condemn it if they don’t. If there was no condemnation, then Kostyuk and co. Players are believed to be banned from worldwide occasions.
“There comes a time when silence betrays, and that time is now,” the gamers’ assertion stated then.
Azarenka defeated Kostyuk 6-2, 6-3. No handshake, only a racket faucet… pic.twitter.com/WogSSznz2t
— Jose Morgado (@josemorgado) 1 September 2022
On Thursday evening, Kostyuk spoke about his refusal to shake fingers with Azarenka, who has met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a number of occasions prior to now. She stated she had texted Azarenka earlier than the sport, though the 2 didn’t discuss it.
“It was my choice, I feel like I don’t know anyone who publicly condemned the war, and the actions of their government, so I don’t think I can support that. Don’t get me wrong, He is a great competitor. But, it has nothing to do with him being a human being.”
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus reacts after defeating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine throughout the second spherical of the US Open Tennis Championships in New York, Thursday, September 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Last week, Kostyuk efficiently urged the United States Tennis Association to cease Azarenka from attending an exhibition to learn aid efforts in Ukraine.
“Imagine there’s World War II and there’s a fundraiser for the Jewish people and a German player wants to play,” Kostyuk stated.
Azarenka couldn’t perceive this determination. “It’s a no-brainer to me, because why don’t I participate in humanitarian aid for people who are really struggling right now,” she stated. “I thought it was a gesture that really showed commitment. I’m not sure why it wasn’t taken that way.”
Soon after Kostyuk spoke, Azarenka spoke at his press convention. She stated she had reached out by means of the WTA to carry talks with Ukrainian athletes over the previous few months, however was denied.
“I’ve been told it’s not a good time,” she stated. “I’ve had a very clear message from the beginning, that I’m here to try to help, which I’ve done a lot. Maybe not something that people see. And I don’t do it for the sake of it. I do it I do it for people who are in need, juniors who need clothes, other people who need money or other people who need transportation or whatever. That’s what’s important to me, helping people in need.”
Azarenka stated that if Kostyuk needed to talk together with her, she was “open at any time to listen, to try to understand, to sympathize,” including that, “I believe that way In the moment of empathy is really important.”
Relations between gamers from the warring nations have been strained for months. Poland’s Inga Swietek, the world no 1 who has condemned the invasion and has her personal fund-raiser for Ukraine aid efforts, stated on Thursday: “Right now, I think it’s too late to fix it. Right now, it’s easy to say that maybe there was a lack of leadership, but at that time I didn’t even know what to do.”
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
