Marta Kostyuk defeated Anastasia Potapova in the women’s singles semifinals of the 2026 Madrid Open. In the aftermath of the result, the Ukrainian revealed why she didn’t shake hands with the ex-Russian, who now represents Austria, upon the conclusion of their last-four clash.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kostyuk and several other high-profile Ukrainian women’s tennis players have refused to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian rivals. Daria Kasatkina, another former Russian who now represents Australia, has perhaps been the only exception because of her vocal opposition to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
Thanks for the submission!
Speaking up on the subject at a press conference after her 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win over Anastasia Potapova in the Spanish capital, Marta Kostyuk explained:
“The only person I shake hands with is Daria Kasatkina because she didn’t just change her passport. She also openly said that she didn’t support the war. So this is why me and other (Ukrainian) girls made the decision to shake hands with her purely out of respect.”
The 23-year-old currently ranked World No. 23 on the WTA Tour’s singles rankings added:
“In this case there have been multiple players who have changed their nationalities but none of them ever voiced anything against the war or anything to support Ukrainians. So for me that doesn’t change.”
Marta Kostyuk set to face Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Madrid final
Mirra Andreeva, the 19-year-old World No. 8, will be Marta Kostyuk’s opponent in the women’s singles final of the 2026 Madrid Open. Andreeva reached the final on the back of wins over Panna Udvardy, Dalma Galfi, Anna Bondar, Leylah Fernandez and most recently, Hailey Baptiste in the semifinals.
Irrespective of what the result of the final is, Kostyuk is once again likely to avoid shaking hands with Andreeva courtesy the latter’s nationality. The pair’s only previous WTA Tour-level clash came in the quarterfinals of this year’s Brisbane International, where the Ukrainian registered a 7-6(7), 6-3 victory. On that occasion, there was no handshake between the rivals.
Back in late 2023, Kostyuk controversially withdrew from an exhibition event in France at the last minute. The Ukrainian was not initially a part of the event, but was called to replace Donna Vekic. Kostyuk was aware of the fact that she would face either Andreeva or Varvara Gracheva in the final of the exhibition, with Gracheva being a Russian-born player who obtained French nationality in June 2023.
Edited by Sudipto Pati