Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk refused to play with the Russian woman Mirra Andreeva in the final of the exhibition tournament in Bourg-de-Page (France), reports the competition press service.
The Ukrainian athlete will be replaced in the final by Frenchman Yanis Ghazouani Duran, 23, ranked 845th in the ATP rankings.
The tournament’s press service said in a statement that Kostyuk’s decision was motivated by the “geopolitical situation in Ukraine.”
Andreeva is 16 years old. Last season, she reached the 1/8 finals of Wimbledon and repeated the record of Maria Sharapova, who was the only tennis player of the 21st century who managed to reach this stage of the tournament at the age of 17 . Andreeva also reached the third round of Roland Garros. The Russian started the season at 405th place in the WTA rankings; in November, Andreeva became the 46th racket in the world.
Source : MatchTV
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