The decision of the Ukrainian tennis player Marty Kostyuk boycott the last match of the exhibition tournament in France against the Russians Mirra Andreeva is incorrect, given that the Ukrainian herself took part in the competition, a State Duma deputy told . Svetlana Jourova .
Kostyuk refused to play with Andreeva in the final of the exhibition tournament in Bourg-de-Page (France). Tournament organizers said the reason for Ukraine’s decision was the “geopolitical situation.” Kostyuk was replaced in the match by Frenchman Yanis Ghazouani Duran, ranked 845th in the ATP rankings. Andreeva lost to him with a score of 5:7, 2:6.
– There is only regret. Ukraine itself nevertheless allowed action against the Russians and Belarusians under a neutral flag, even though it had previously banned it. It is therefore strange that athletes continue to express their discontent in this way. They only make things worse and make the international federations a little angry. After all, there were spectators at the tournament and the broadcast rights were probably sold.
Of course, they can demand a total Russian withdrawal, but that won’t happen. So you have to go out to play, or not participate in the tournament at all. Sport comes first and tennis must be represented by the best athletes in all tournaments. Whether exhibition tournaments, Olympic Games or Grand Slam tournaments.
We must understand that Kostyuk will receive a lot of applause for his position among Western countries. Apparently, that is why she committed such an act. Plus an exhibition tournament, there will be no fine. But perhaps in the future the federations will have to develop some sort of regulations so that matches are not disrupted.
If, for example, during the Olympics, an athlete does not participate in a match, the entire country can be disqualified. So that’s not the question. If you participated in the competition, you are wrong to boycott and disrupt it. I am sure that international federations will draw conclusions,” Zhurova told .
Kostyuk is 21 years old and ranked 39th in the WTA rankings. The WTA Rookie of the Year, 16-year-old Andreeva is the 57th racket in the world.
Source : MatchTV
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