Aryna Sabalenka defeated Marta Kostyuk in the first round of the French Open, but she was again denied a handshake by her opponent at Roland-Garros.
Kostyuk and Sabalenka had played previously and the Ukrainian had refused to shake hands with her Belarusian opponent, due to Belarus’ support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Kostyuk has not yet beaten a top-10 player in her career, and as result, Sabalenka arrived not just as one of the favourites at Roland-Garros – though she has yet to win the Grand Slam in Paris – but a heavy favourite to progress from the first round.
READ ALSO: Rafael Nadal withdraws from French Open as he says 2024 might be his last year on tour
The 25-year-old world No. 2 has gone as far as the third before, but with an Australian Open win under her belt this year already, she is one of the biggest names in the draw.
Twenty-year-old Kostyuk is ranked 39, and has also gone to the third round in Paris before, and in March this year won the ATX Open to show her talents.
The early exchanges saw the match go with service, until Sabalenka broke to go 2-2, only for her opponent to break straight back. Sabalenka broke once more as she reeled off a succession of games to clinch the first set 6-3.
After six back-to-back game wins Kostyuk stopped the rot to move to 2-1 behind in the second set, but Sabalenka kept up the pressure to close out the win 6-3 6-2.
At the end of the match, her opponent refused to shake her hand, with jeers and boos heard from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
READ ALSO: Simona Halep, 2-time Grand Slam champion charged with further anti-doping breach
Speaking on court after her win, she referenced what played out.
“It was a very tough match, emotionally, and sorry guys, and I thought at first the boos were against me, so I was a little surprised,” she explained.
“I felt your support so thank you so much, it’s really important.
“That win [the Australian Open] was one of my goals, I was super happy. Actually, I thought that my first Grand Slam would be the French Open, I have no idea why.
“It’s kind of another goal, and I’m doing everything I can to bring my best tennis on court.”
