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The Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk refused to play the exhibition match against the young Russian Mirra Andreeva, at the Negometal Open, an exhibition tournament held in France, in Bourg-de-Péage. The exhibition tournament became the scene of yet another controversial episode involving Russian and Ukrainian players.
In the women's event, Andreeva defeated Varvara Gracheva in the semifinals, to challenge Donna Vekic in the final. The Croatian, however, withdrew due to problems behind her and the organizers thought of contacting Marta Kostyuk.
The Ukrainian initially accepted the invitation, but when she discovered that her opponent would be the Russian, she suddenly withdrew for reasons not yet specified. Analyzing the geopolitical situation and the numerous posts published by Kostyuk on the ongoing war in her country, it is not difficult to understand the reason for her decision.
Kostyuk has repeatedly pointed the finger at Russian players for never having, according to her, ever openly denounced their government. To allow the crowd to still watch a match, the organizers opted for a challenge with the male tennis player Yanis Ghazouani Durand, currently number 1146 in the ATP ranking.
The latter overcame Andreeva with a score of 7-5, 6-2.
Fans rip Marta Kostyuk
According to local media, Kostyuk was pressured not to play against Andreeva and, after the autograph session, she chose to forgo the match. Kostyuk has not yet expressed herself on the matter either through official interviews or through her social accounts.
The same goes for Andreeva who found herself in an uncomfortable situation. However, fans were angry with Kostyuk for this controversial choice, which prevented fans from not enjoying a match for which they had paid a ticket.
Below you can read some of the harshest comments on X:
I think it's weird Kostyuk came knowing she would probably have to play against a russian player in the final 😅 — Lymon (@Lymmon_) December 17, 2023
Nobody forced Kostyuk to propose herself for an exhibition in which she knew since the beginning she was going to face a Russian player.
Plus Andreeva is just 16 years old for godness — Arianna (@AriannaTenisci) December 17, 2023
Marta Kostyuk is the biggest clown on the WTA tour https://t.co/u8jHzmuauT — Sam Culmer (@SJCSports7) December 17, 2023
Anyways it’s clear Kostyuk did this to cause this sort of “news”, she knew full well when she replaced Vekic that she will face Gracheva or Andreeva
It’s her choice at the end of the day to highlight her opposition to Russian players participation in this way, sucks for the fans pic.twitter.com/MIuekib0Ws — Melanie Lautrup (@melanie_lautrup) December 17, 2023
What the actual… https://t.co/QGOFdXUFsi — José Morgado (@josemorgado) December 17, 2023
Getting a little tired of Kostyuk and her antics.
— Hendrik Pieterse (@HPiAnalytics59) December 17, 2023