Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk reproached the US Open press service for working for Russian propaganda due to the publication of the results of the match against Russian Maria Timofeeva at the Australia Open tournament. According to Izvestia, Kostyuk wrote about this on January 21 on social networks.
When publishing the results, the tournament organizers used the flags of Ukraine opposite the name Kostyuk and Russia – opposite the name Timofeeva. However, according to the Ukrainian athlete, this contradicts the decisions to exclude Russians and Belarusians from participating in international sports tournaments under state flags. The publication of the Russian flag at the official level of the US Open is propaganda for Moscow, Kostyuk believes.
Earlier, Timofeeva lost to Kostyuk with a score of 2:6, 1:6 and was unable to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The athletes did not shake hands at the end of the match.
Let us remind you that after the start of the SVO in Ukraine, Kostyuk regularly refuses to shake hands with competition participants from Russia and Belarus. For example, on December 17, on the eve of the Negometal Open exhibition tournament in France, she did not meet on the court with Russian Mirra Andreeva.
The Ukrainian tennis player advocates the exclusion of athletes from Russia and Belarus from international tournaments, including the US Open championship. According to Kostyuk, neutral status “does not exist”, so a complete ban on participation in tournaments for both Russians and Belarusians is necessary.
Source: Rosbalt
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