(VIDEO) No handshake between Kostyuk and Potapova despite nationality change

Friday, 01 May 2026 at 07:29

Once again a side note of the semi-final clash between Marta Kostyuk and Anastasia Potapova at the Madrid Open was in fact the lack of a handshake despite the latter changing nationality.

Kostyuk did not shake hands with the now Austrian player in their last four clash. Potapova has never spoken out about the war in Ukraine and has also played the infamous Gazprom exhibition in St Petersburg. So perhaps it is even more unsurprising.

Kostyuk and several other high profile Ukrainian women tennis players have decided not to shake hands for sometime since 2022 other than Daria Kasatkina who is an exception after defecting due to her vocal opposition to the war.

As well as that Kasatkina openly changed nationality due to her not being safe as a Russian anymore due to her sexuality and views so is seen as a separate entity to the Ukrainians in the hand shaking department. But it was explained also by Kostyuk yesterday ahead of playing Potapova.

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"The only person I shake hands with is Daria Kasatkina because she didn't just change her passport. She also openly said that she didn't support the war. So this is why me and other (Ukrainian) girls made the decision to shake hands with her purely out of respect," said Kostyuk.

Kostyuk added that there are multiple players who have changed their nationalities who have not voiced anything about the war so in reality they will keep the position. "In this case there have been multiple players who have changed their nationalities but none of them ever voiced anything against the war or anything to support Ukrainians. So for me that doesn't change."

¡Volvió a aparecer Marta Kostyuk para rematar el partido con un 6-2, 1-6, 6-1! 🎾

La ucraniana se medirá a la rusa Andreeva en la final del #MMOpen. 🏆

📺Andreeva 🆚 Kostyuk, la final en directo este sábado en Teledeporte.#tenisRTVE pic.twitter.com/UhbF6yBJYi
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) April 30, 2026

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