A Ukrainian tennis player refused to shake her Russian opponent's hand after winning a tournament title and dedicated her victory to Ukraine's soldiers
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk dedicated her first WTA title to the Ukrainian soldiers "fighting and dying right now" on the frontlines.
news.yahoo.comNo handshake after Ukraine, Belarus players meet at US Open
A Ukrainian player declined to shake hands with Victoria Azarenka after the three-time U.S. Open runner-up from Belarus beat her at Flushing Meadows on Thursday. Marta Kostyuk waited at the net with her racket held up, which Azarenka tapped with her racket following her 6-2, 6-3 victory. Belarus helped Russia launch its invasion of Ukraine in February, and Kostyuk said it had been on her mind since she saw the U.S. Open draw that she may have to play Azarenka in the second round.
news.yahoo.comThe Latest: Osaka, Djokovic on Day 5 schedule at US Open
NEW YORK The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):11:10 a.m. Play is underway in third-round matches on Day 5 at the U.S. Open. Past champions Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic are among those scheduled to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium later Friday. Osaka will face Marta Kostyuk to begin the day session in the tournaments main arena. The top-seeded Djokovic will bring a 28-match winning streak, including 25-0 this season, into his night match against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Osaka tosses racket, overcomes test from teenager at US Open
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, serves to Marta Kostyuk, of the Ukraine, during the third round of the US Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in New York. Another past U.S. Open champion moving into the fourth round Friday was 2016 titlist Angelique Kerber, who defeated 20-year-old American Ann Li 6-3, 6-4. Kerbers next opponent is another American, 28th-seeded Jennifer Brady, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Caroline Garcia. The key moment: Kostyuk held five break points that could have given her a 3-1 lead in the final set. Each time on court during the tournament, Osaka is wearing a different mask in memory of a victim of racial injustice.