Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk dedicated her first WTA Tour title to ‘all the people who are fighting and dying’ after beating Russia’s Varvara Gracheva at the ATX Open. The 20 year-old, ranked 40, completed a 6-3, 7-5 victory over the world No 66 in an hour and 32 minutes and then refused to shake hands with her opponent at the net. During the presentation ceremony, Kostyuk said: ‘Being in the position that I’m in right now, it’s extremely special to win this title. I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine and to all the people who are fighting and dying right now.’ She has been one of the most outspoken players on the issue of allowing Russian and Belarusian players to continue playing on tour following the invasion of Ukraine.
