Kostyuk Hits Back at Sabalenka Amidst Locker Room Hate

Marta Kostyuk is a very fiery player who wears her emotions on her sleeve, and she hit back at some comments made by Aryna Sabalenka.

There has been a lot of tension in the WTA locker room in recent times due to things happening away from the courts. It’s not in anybody's control, but it certainly casts a shadow over the WTA, and ripple effects are being felt by every player.

Sabalenka recently made comments stating that she’s been feeling an unprecedented amount of hate in the locker room, even though she seems to be one of the more bubbly and beloved players.

She has many friends among the top players, but the war in Ukraine has complicated things for the Belarusian, as her country, Belarus, has been one of the few countries openly supporting Russian efforts in Ukraine.

Kostyuk has now responded to those comments because the way Sabalenka framed it seemed like it was mostly driven by Ukrainian players, as they have been rather harsh in the way they talked about their colleagues from Russia and Belarus, calling for their suspension.

Kostyuk's comments seem to be in line with what is expected and generally accepted in tennis circles, but in the end, the way Sabalenka might be feeling is highly specific to her, and neither she nor Kostyuk could be in the wrong.

Kostyuk might not be actively spreading hate, but Sabalenka might still feel a great deal of tension, which doesn’t really impact her positively as she’s rather bubbly and very open, and that treatment might be a shock to her.

The Ukrainian, on the other hand, has been very vocal about her beliefs as she refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova at the Miami Open, and later, she also slammed the WTA for ignoring Ukrainian players.