'Don't Understand What These Players Are Doing Here': Kostyuk Confronts Silence On Ukraine
WTASaturday, 20 January 2024 at 09:00
Marta Kostyuk has hit back at journalists and players who have failed to acknowledge the war in Ukraine at the 2024 Australian Open.
Kostyuk is enjoying a strong showing at the Australian Open so far, having navigated tough clashes with Claire Liu, Elsie Mertens, and Elina Avanesyan to reach the fourth round. Next up for the Ukrainian is Russian player Maria Timofeeva on Sunday.
Despite her progress at the Grand Slam, Kostyuk said she feels disappointed that players and journalists have moved on from addressing the war in Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February 2022.
After her win against Avanesyan, Kostyuk was asked about what has changed between coverage and opinions on the war among tennis players and reporters, especially as there was a fundraiser to support Ukrainians at last year's Australian Open.
"Unfortunately, yes. I respect journalists, but there are some that I really don't like. I think it was a way of not really lightening up the situation in Ukraine, but rather it being like breaking news all the time."
"So they want the drama. They wanted news. They wanted all this heating between players and everything. The war is still there. People are still dying every day. I still don't understand what all these players are doing here."
Despite two years of conflict across Ukraine, the war is still raging on. Ultimately, with her family still in the Eastern European nation, Kostyuk explained that she cannot escape the brutal reality that her family and compatriots face in her homeland.
"Nothing really changed in my world. I feel like in general it's a lot of processes happening to come to this point where people forget about it because, yeah, people get used to it.
"I understand that everyone has their own issues, and everyone is focused on their thing. I think I'm here to remind everyone all the time that it's still on, and it should be stopped."
"It's not normal that it's happening. My whole family is in Kyiv right now. My mom sends me videos when there are missiles flying over their house. I watch this. To me it's incredible that it's still going on, and it's been almost two years."
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