Marta Kostyuk was profoundly shocked after learning that her country, Ukraine, was attacked by the Russian army. Marta was always strongly opposed to the participation of the Russian and Belarusian players on the WTA tour. Kostyuk was opposed to Varvara Gracheva in the Austin final. After winning the encounter 6-3 7-5 Marta refused the handshake and dedicate her win to Ukraine. Here is the video.
Marta Kostyuk said she won't shake hands with Russians & she did that exactly even after winning her first title đź‘Ś pic.twitter.com/7W23wNp1JG
— Kostyuk Fan 🇺🇦 (@KostyukFan) March 5, 2023
"I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine. It's a very special moment 💙💛"@marta_kostyuk | #ATXOpen pic.twitter.com/RKtWoGPKdP
— wta (@WTA) March 5, 2023
Marta Kostyuk in 2023
Now the world no.52, Marta played her last match on the 5th of March when she defeated world no.88 Varvara Gracheva 6-3 7-5 in the final in Austin to win her 1st career title.
Presently, during this year the Ukrainian has achieved an overall 15-6 record. Marta has won 1 title in Austin.
She is also scheduled to play in Miami (Miami Open). The main draw will start on the 21st of March.
Varvara Gracheva in 2023
Ranked no.88, Gracheva played her last encounter on the 5th of March when she was defeated by world no.52 Marta Kostyuk 6-3 7-5 in the final in Austin (draw).
This season Varvara achieved a compiled 11-9 record. Varvara Gracheva’s latest run in Austin was the best achievement of her season.
Marta Kostyuk and Varvara Gracheva clashed against each other 6 times. Their actual head to head record is 4-2 for Kostyuk. Before, the last time they squared off, Marta Kostyuk won 6-3 7-5 in the final in Austin (ATX Open) on the 5th of March 2023.
Here the video highlights.