Paula Badosa said that the frosty handshake between her and Marta Kostyuk was all on the Ukrainian and her perception of some things.
In the Australian Open third round, the Spanish tennis star beat the world No. 18 6-4 4-6 6-3 in a tricky weather conditions.
Moments after the match ended, the two shared a very frosty handshake.
Badosa on the frosty handshake with Kostyuk at #AusOpen
“It’s just her. I think she has her own things with Ukraine, the war, and things she’s been vocal about. She lost a tough match, the conditions were tough – it’s a combination of everything. I don’t think it was personal.” pic.twitter.com/RtyImIlfh8
— Ukrainian Tennis • BTU (@ukrtennis_eng) January 17, 2025
On social media, fans instantly assumed that Badosa’s close friendship with Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka may be one of the reasons.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Kostyuk has been very outspoken about the matter and just like the rest of Ukrainian players, she hasn’t been shaking hands with Russian or Belarusian players for nearly three years now.
Asked about it in her presser, the world No. 12 confirmed that the war in Ukraine probably had something to do with their handshake but also didn’t rule out that the Ukrainian was frustrated about how the match went.
Badosa: The frosty handshake didn’t have anything to do with me
“No, it’s just her. I mean, I think… She has her own things. Everything that’s going on with Ukraine, the war and all these things that she’s been very vocal about,” the 27-year-old explained.
“I’m not in that in that honestly, and I think it was a bit that and maybe also that she lost a tough match and also the conditions worked off for both of us. i think it’s a combination of everything but I think I have nothing to do with that.”
Paula Badosa© Australian Open/YouTube
Meanwhile, this was the fifth meeting between the two and Badosa’s fourth win.
In the Australian open round-of-16, the 11th-seeded Spaniard plays against world No. 55 Olga Danilovic, who stunned 2024 US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula.
Tennis World USA