In most sports, teams and athletes compete fiercely over everything from a 10-second 100m sprint, through to 90-minute football matches with everything on the line, through to five-hour epics on a tennis court.
Then, as the contest ends, everyone shakes hands. But that's not always the case, as one instance from this year's US Open has shown.
In the third round of this year's tournament at Flushing Meadowd, Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk met Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova. The 11th seed, Kostyuk, had already beaten American Sloan Stephens and Australian Storm Hunter in straight sets, while 18th seed Alexandrova defeated McCartney Kessler of the USA in the first round before coming out on top over the course of three sets against Kimberly Birrell in the second.
It was to be Kostyuk's day, however, continuing her run of not dropping a set with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. It was her actions after the match, though, that have caused something a stir.
What Happened at the End of Marta Kostyuk vs Ektaerina Alexandrova?
Kostyuk caused a stir earlier this year when refusing to shake Mirra Andreeva's hand after the Russian beat her in the French Open semi-final. Andreeva won 6-1, 6-3 in what many regarded as one of the best performances of her career on her way to winning the Grand Slam.
She did the same against Alexandrova.
"Ukrainians do NOT shake hands with Russians after a match," read an X post from @corbydavidson, sharing a video of Kostyuk only shaking the umpire's hand before heading to her bench. "Especially after they kick their ass. Marta Kostyuk is a boss." But it did not go down well with everyone, with some of the replies criticising her sportsmanship and others questioning why some people hold individuals responsible for their government's actions.
"Her opponent has NOTHING to do with the war. This is extremely poor sportsmanship and a horrible example for kids who were watching," argued one reply.
"Sad, because most Russians don't want the war. Sad play by Kostyuk," stated another.
Marta Kostyuk's Stance on Shaking Hands With Russian Players
As the social media replies alluded to, Kostyuk's stance stems from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with a number of Ukrainian players following her lead in not shaking the hands of their Russian or Belarusian counterparts after the start of the war in 2022.
Kostyuk did break that rule, however, when shaking the hand of Daria Kastakina after their third round match at the Italian Open last year.
While a Russian native, Kastakina took permanent Australian residency and changed her passport accordingly, acquiring Australian citizenship in January 2026. On Kastakina, Kostyuk has previously said:
"The only person I shake hands with is Daria Kasatkina because she didn't just change her passport, but also openly said she doesn't support the war and all that. That's why me and the other girls decided to shake her hand, simply out of respect."
Kostyuk said that while multiple players have changed their nationality, none of them had voiced anything against the war or anything to support Ukranians. "So for me that doesn't change," she said.
Kostyuk is set to take on Linda Noskova in the round of 16. The pair have met twice before, with Noskova winning in straight sets at Wimbledon earlier this year and Kostyuk doing likewise back in April at the Madrid Open.
