The Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk refused to face the Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva, which she had nevertheless committed to doing when she registered for the Open Bourg-de-Péage, reveals Le Dauphiné Libéré.
The Bourg-de-Péage Open, where 9 professional players, 6 men and 3 women, competed this weekend, had a particular outcome for the women. The young Russian tennis prodigy Mirra Andreeva (46th in the world) saw her opponent in the final, the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (21 years old, 39th in the world) defect due to the geopolitical context. A kyiv native, Kostyuk eventually gave up playing due to Russia’s invasion of her country.
This is what the organizers suggested. Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka at the last US Open, just as she avoided Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros. This Sunday, Le Dauphiné Libéré takes care to specify that the Ukrainian player had accepted the possibility of playing Andreeva if the situation were to arise, when she registered for the tournament. Marta Kostyuk was not initially included in the program.
The Ukrainian entered the table on Friday, following the withdrawal of Donna Vekic, winner of the previous edition, victim of a torn shoulder. Regardless, the organization of the tournament was forced to urgently mobilize its network of professional players in order to find a replacement for the Ukrainian for the final.
But the deadline was “unfortunately too short”, forcing the tournament to organize a mixed match between Andreeva and the local of the stage, the Péagois Yanis Ghazouani-Durand. A man, therefore, who faced Arthur Rinderknech on Friday. Yanis Ghazouani-Durand won in two sets (7-5, 6-2), but it was Mirra Andreeva who was declared winner of the women’s draw of the 6th edition of the Negometal Open.
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2023-12-17 16:36:37
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