Marta Kostyuk has confirmed that there will be no handshake between her and her semifinal opponent, Anastasia Potapova, at the Madrid Open. The Ukrainian has been firm in her stance of not clicking pictures or shaking hands with opponents who hail from Russia amid the ongoing war between the two countries.
Kostyuk and Potapova will collide in the semifinals of the 2026 Madrid Open on Thursday, with both players looking to win their first WTA 1000 title.
Marta Kostyuk Reveals Stance About Shaking Hands With Anastasia Potapova
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022, players from Ukraine have refused handshakes with opponents who represent Russia and Belarus in a way to show solidarity with their home nation.
Ahead of Thursday’s semifinal, Kostyuk was asked whether she would shake hands with Potapova on Thursday. And the former made it clear that she would not be partaking in any greeting, even though the latter changed her sporting nationality from Russia to Austria in December 2025.
“The only person I shake hands with is Daria Kasatkina because she not only changed her passport (to Australia), but she also openly stated that she doesn’t support the war and all that. This is why I and some other girls decided to shake her hand, purely out of respect,” Kostyuk said.
“In this case, there were other players who changed their nationality, but none of them have publicly spoken out against the war; they haven’t said anything to support the Ukrainian people. So for me, this doesn’t change anything,” she added.
Kostyuk and Potapova appeared to be on friendly terms before the relationship between their birth countries turned sour.
World No. 7 Elina Svitolina also skipped a post-match handshake with Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open this year. This followed similar incidents at other tournaments, in which players from Ukraine have refused to shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus.
Kostyuk also refused a handshake with Sabalenka when they met in the final of the Brisbane International earlier this year. They clicked separate pictures with their respective trophies.
Kostyuk will be eyeing a 10th straight win on the WTA Tour on Thursday. The 23-year-old won the Open de Rouen earlier this month, her second WTA Tour title. She has already beaten Jessica Pegula and Linda Nosková en route to the semifinals and has yet to drop a set in Madrid.
Potapova is also enjoying a fine start to her clay-court swing. She made the final in Linz and has overcome Elena Rybakina and Jeļena Ostapenko en route to the semifinals as a lucky loser. She is looking to win her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid.
