Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk took issue with the French Open’s notoriously fickle crowd, and players’ silence over the war in her home country, after she was booed off the court on Sunday for declining to shake hands with her Belarusian opponent on an otherwise unremarkable opening day at Roland Garros.
Kostyuk, the world number 39, had warned she would not shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players due to the ongoing war in Ukraine – a stance she and other Ukrainian athletes have stuck to since Moscow’s forces invaded their country last year, with support from Belarus.
The 20-year-old from Kyiv duly avoided her opponent on Court Philippe Chatrier, the French Open’s showpiece arena, after losing 6-3 6-2 in a lopsided contest with world number two Aryna Sabalenka.
But she was taken aback by what followed.
A significant part of the crowd booed and whistled at her as she skipped the customary handshake at the net and walked straight to the umpire. The noise only got louder as she picked up her gear and walked off the court.
“I have to say, I didn’t expect it,” Kostyuk later said at a lengthy post-match press conference. “But I have no reaction to it. People should be honestly embarrassed, but this is not my call. I don’t know. I feel fine.”
A confused Sabalenka initially thought that the boos were aimed at her. She responded with a sarcastic bow, at first, before acknowledging the crowd and thanking them for their support. She later said her opponent did not deserve to leave the court in such a manner, suggesting that the crowd might not have been aware of the protests by Ukrainian athletes.
“We all know Ukrainian girls will not shake hands with us, so it’s kind of not a surprise for us,” Sabalenka said at her press conference. “But probably the public today was surprised. They saw it as disrespect to me as a player, so that’s why it was booing her.”
Outside the Court Philippe Chatrier, spectators voiced mixed feelings about the incident.
“It’s a difficult crowd here at Roland Garros,” said Swiss-based Argentinian visitor Fernando, likening the boos to “a pure expression of the French – always finding something to complain about.”
“It’s a sensitive subject, because sportsmanship and respect for the opponent is always treasured in tennis,” added fellow Argentine Maria, a former junior player. “But with the war raging, we cannot imagine how it feels to be in Kostyuk’s shoes right now.”
In the shadow of war
Kostyuk currently lives in Monaco, along with her mother and sister, but her father and grandfather are still in Kyiv. Following Sunday’s match, she said she had been unable to sleep the night before, checking her phone at 5am to read about disturbing news back home.
Kyiv had been subjected to one of the largest drone attacks since the start of the war, with at least one person killed in the bombing.
“It’s something I cannot describe, probably. I try to put my emotions aside any time I go out on court. I think I’m better than before, and I don’t think it affects me as much on a daily basis, but yeah, it’s just – I don’t know,” she told the press, shaking her head. “There is not much to say, really. It’s just part of my life.
The war in Ukraine has been a deeply divisive subject in tennis, as in other sports, stoking tensions between players, tournaments and governing bodies.
Wimbledon was stripped of its ranking points last year, and fined $1 million, over its decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus. It has renounced the ban this year, though players from the two countries will have to sign a declaration of neutrality in order to compete at the All England Club.
The WTA and ATP, the sport’s governing bodies, have barred players from Russia and Belarus from competing under the name or flag of either country, requiring them to play under neutral flags instead – a move Sabalenka has said makes her feel like she “comes from nowhere”.
The world No 2 has spoken about the “hate” she encountered in the locker room amid strained relations between some players following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Last month she said she feared the feeling would only increase after she was publicly praised in a speech by Belarus’s strongman Alexander Lukashenko.
“If Ukrainians will hate me more after his speech, then what can I do? If they feel better by hating me, I'm happy to help them with that,” she said at the time.
‘If we could stop the war, we would do it’
On Sunday, Sabalenka described her first-round clash with Kostyuk as “emotionally tough” – largely because of the context of the war.
“You’re playing against a Ukrainian and you never know what’s going to happen. You never know how people will (react),” she said. “I was worried, like, people will be against me, and I don’t like to play when people (are) so much against me.”
In a tense exchange, a journalist from Ukraine pressed Sabalenka to be more specific about her stance on the war in Ukraine, noting that she could soon overtake Iga Swiatek as the world number one and become a role model to many.
“I said it many, many times: nobody in this world, Russian athletes or Belarusian athletes, support the war. Nobody,” Sabalenka said. “If it could affect anyhow the war, if it could like stop it, we would do it. But unfortunately, it’s not in our hands.”
When some of those comments were read to Kostyuk, the Ukrainian player voiced criticism of Sabalenka’s failure to come out and say that “she personally doesn’t support this war”. She pointed to a contrast with Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, who has refused to return to her home country since publicly speaking out against the war.
“I feel like journalists should change the questions you ask these athletes because the war is already here,” Kostyuk said, suggesting the media ask players which side they believe should win the war. She added: “It's been 15 months since the war has begun.”
Kostyuk flagged what she described as a lack of compassion from fellow players. “It wasn’t that difficult, when the war started, to come talk to us, if only for a few minutes,” she said. “When we met them in the locker room, they stared at their feet and said nothing. I don’t understand. They lacked courage.”
She also rejected the idea that players from Russia or Belarus could be at risk upon returning to those countries if they were to speak out about what is happening in Ukraine.
“I don’t know what other players are afraid of,” she said. “I go back to Ukraine, where I can die any second from drones or missiles or whatever it is.”
(With AP)
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