Marta Kostyuk Refuses To Shake Hands With Varvara Gracheva After Austin Final, Says No To Photoshoot
Marta Kostyuk won her first career title at the ATX Open in Austin when she beat Varvara Gracheva 6-3 7-5 in the final. She will move into the top 40 in rankings after this win. Kostyuk, who is from Ukraine, dedicated the victory to her home country, which is battling against Russia’s invasion.
At the end of the match, Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Varvara Gracheva, who is Russian. Kosttuk also refused to participate in the traditional photoshoot after the final. She has vowed not to shake hands with Russian players on the tour because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Kostyuk beat Anna-Lena Friedsam in the quarterfinals and Daniell Collins in the semifinals. This was the first career final for both Kostyuk and Gracheva.