French Open Match Ends with Controversy as Marta Kostyuk Refuses to Shake Aryna Sabalenka’s Hand

The second grand slam of the year, the French Open in Paris, got off to a stealthy start on Sunday. In the first round, Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine was pitted against one of the tournament favorites, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus.

Sabalenka won the match without taking the set numbers 6-3, 6-2. But it is what happened after the match ball was kicked in that came into focus.

When the players were to thank each other for the match in front of the net, Marta Kostyuk refused to take Sabalenka’s hand. A mark against the Belarusian whose homeland supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The reactions from the audience were not long in coming. There were shouts from the stands against Marta Kostyuk.

– Sorry, I thought you were booing me. I’m a little surprised. But then I felt your support, says Aryna Sabalenka.

– This was a tough match. Tough emotionally, she continues.

The expert: “Bizarre ending”

Kostyuk and Sabalenka met in the US Open last year. Even then, Kostyuk refused to take his opponent by the hand.

The incident has not gone unnoticed in the tennis world. One of those who noted it is The Times tennis reporter Stuart Fraser.

”A bizarre end to the first match of the French Open”, he writes on Twitter.