"What a hypocrisy": Marta Kostyuk called out for shaking hands with Russian-born Daria Kasatkina after prior boycott
WTA
Marta Kostyuk continued her sensational form yesterday by defeating Daria Kasatkina to reach the Last 32 of the Rome Open where she will now face off against Leylah Fernandez. But in the 6-4, 6-2 win, there was a handshake afterwards.
Surprising as Kostyuk alongside other Ukrainians such as Elina Svitolina haven't shook hands with Russians since the breakout of the war. Kostyuk was dubbed a hypocrite by some though for this move.
Kasatkina now represents Australia and has long been the outlier in regards to speaking out against the war and also having her own personal rights and safety being gay under threat while representing Russia.
She has often been a player that Ukrainians are unsure what to do with as she obviously doesn't stand for the war but is Russian by proxy. But now she is not representing them, Kostyuk decided to shake hands.
"What a hypocrisy. Kasatkina has been against the war since the beginning but till yesterday the hand shake was out of question and today it’s everything ok," one fan wrote on X.
"So by simply changing your passport, Daria became friend worthy to Marta? I now get why it's so easy to manipulate anyone into hating a neighbor," another wrote.
Further accounts said that Kostyuk only did it as she won and nothing else. "Just goes to show it’s complete bulls**t. Change your passport, get a handshake. So unbelievably dumb."
"LOL Marta only shook her hand because she won. She would’ve had attitude and walked off if she lost.
Albeit amid the criticism, an interesting counterpoint was made as players such as Elina Avanesyan and Varvara Gracheva have defected to Armenia and France in similar circumstances. Albeit neither has spoken out about the war.
But neither have received handshakes either as they are Russian born so is a counter argument to this. "And yet no handshake for Avanesyan or Gracheva?"
Albeit amid the negativity, one fan wrote that it seemed logical given Kasatkina standing with the Ukrainians on the stance of war. "And it seems perfectly logical to me, given that Kasatkina made a clear choice not to be Russian, probably, or rather certainly, due to issues with the regime and her personal freedom."
Marta Kostyuk gets a very good win against Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-2.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 9, 2025
And YES, there was an handshake between the Ukrainian and the Russian who now is representing Australia. pic.twitter.com/nJTbrNhYSH
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