Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk devoted her first WTA Tour title to “all of the people who find themselves combating and dying” after beating Russia’s Varvara Gracheva on the ATX Open in Texas.Kostyuk overcame Gracheva 6-3 7-5 in her maiden last and didn’t shake her opponent’s hand afterwards.The 20-year-old has been outspoken concerning the choice to permit Russian and Belarusian gamers to proceed competing following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, saying gamers from these two nations ought to be banned until they publicly denounce the struggle.Kostyuk beforehand refused to shake Belarusian Victoria Azarenka’s hand on the US Open final September, saying it will not have been “the precise factor to do”.Belarus has been a key ally of Russia throughout the ongoing struggle in Ukraine.After beating Gracheva, Kostyuk stated: “Being within the place that I am in proper now, it is extraordinarily particular to win this title.”I wish to dedicate this title to Ukraine and to all of the people who find themselves combating and dying proper now.”
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Russian participant Andrey Rublev has reiterated his plea for peace in Ukraine
Russian males’s participant Andrey Rublev referred to as for peace final week whereas enjoying on the Dubai Tennis Championship.The 25-year-old had written “no struggle please” on a digicam lens on the similar match in 2022, days after Russia invaded Ukraine.A 12 months on, he stated: “You can not act like nothing is occurring. It is horrible.”It is loopy that so many simply regular residents are struggling, dying. The one factor I hope is that quickly there might be peace in each nation.”
