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A journalist claims Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk initially accepted to play against Russia's Mirra Andreeva in an exhibition match but withdrew due to public pressure and threats received on social media. Kostyuk, one of the top Ukrainian female tennis players, was announced as a replacement for Donna Vekic after the Croatian pulled out of the Negometal Open de Bourg-de-Peage final against Andreeva due to an injury.
But Kostyuk refused to play the match, which bizarrely led to the organizers naming male player Yanis Ghazouani Durand as a replacement in a lack of options. The situation drew lots of attention and some started criticizing Kostyuk after initial reports that the Ukrainian refused to play Andreeva because of her Russian nationality.
Xavier Coffin, a journalist who worked at the tournament, took to X to explain what really happened.
Journalist: Kostyuk didn't feel like playing after receiving threats
"Saturday evening: Mirra Andreeva beats Varvara Gracheva and advances to the final.
From then on, the news spread in Ukraine. Marta then suffered enormous pressure on the networks. Sunday morning: Marta arrives in Bourg-de-Péage. She had to play with some kids from the club in the morning before the afternoon game.
She keeps her word and tells us 'THE' news. Following the threats received on the networks, she does not feel like playing.’ Obviously, we are disappointed because we know that 3 hours before the start of the match, it will be very complicated to replace her (Gracheva having already taken her train).
We activate our networks to find a player but it is far too complicated in such a short time," Coffin wrote on X in a series of posts.
The tournament's X reposted Coffin's statement and wrote: "To make things clear, we hold no grudge against Marta and will be happy to invite her back in the future!"Forcément, nous sommes déçus car nous savons qu’à 3h du début du match, ce sera très compliqué de la remplacer (Gracheva ayant déjà pris son train).
On active nos réseaux pour trouver une joueuse mais c’est bien trop compliqué dans un délai si court. — Xavier Coffin (@Xavier_Coffin) December 17, 2023
Meanwhile, Andreeva ended up losing to Ghazouani Durand as the French male tennis player beat the Russian 7-5 6-2.A lire sur l’affaire Kostyuk !
Pour mettre les choses au clair, nous n’en voulons aucunement à Marta et nous serons ravis de la réinviter dans le futur ! https://t.co/rDydwNxkqp — Négométal Open de Bourg-de-Péage (@OpenTCBDP) December 17, 2023