Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk revealed in an interview with Eurosport that she has “cut out all contacts with Russian and Belarusian players” because her “Russian and Belarusian friends” never reached out to her after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started.
Several Russian players have stated that they are for peace in the world but nothing more than that. Some suggested that publicly condemning what Russia is doing could put Russian players in danger. However, Kostyuk is not buying it as she thinks that Russian and Belarusian players are just using it as an excuse.
“They pretend like nothing is going on, they pretend that they are the victims of this situation, which I honestly cannot get it,” Kostyuk told Eurosport. “I don’t know how much time needs to pass before they stop making excuses for themselves to do whatever, to do anything, any decision, any movement”.
Kostyuk working with a therapist
According to Eurosport. Kostyuk has started regularly talking to a psychologist. Kostyuk admitted there were days when she was asking herself what’s the purpose of life anymore. “It’s been a roller-coaster.
One day you’re okay, the other day you’re horrible, something happens, you took it very close to you and you react differently every time. And me, as an emotional person, it’s not so easy,” Kostyuk said.
“But I try to manage. Some weeks were extremely difficult, it went to the extent of thinking, ‘What’s the purpose of even being here alive?’ “It requires a lot of mental strength and work, I’m just trying to do my best”.
Kostyuk kicked off her clay season this week in Madrid. On Friday, Kostyuk saw off Clara Tauson in straight sets to progress into the second round at Caja Magica. Kostyuk plays next a familiar opponent, Emma Raducanu. Kostyuk defeated Raducanu when they met in Cluj-Napoca in late 2021. However, that was not their first meeting as they were regularly clashing during their junior days.
