Ukraine’s Kostyuk raises eyebrows after beating Russian Blinkova with underarm serve

Marta Kostyuk. Pic/AFP

Ukrainian's Marta Kostyuk raised eyebrows at the Miami Open on Monday when she used an underarm serve on matchpoint to beat Russian Anna Blinkova and then walked off court without shaking her opponent's hand.

World No. 29 Kostyuk entered the last 16 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Blinkova, but soon had the Internet discussing the manner in which she finished the match.

Also Read: Djoko breaks Nadal's record for most ATP Masters 1000 wins

Blinkova, who was on the baseline when Kostyuk executed the underarm serve, remained stranded there and was unable to reach the ball. Kostyuk then raised her arm to acknowledge the fans and went over the shake the chair umpire's hand before leaving the court.

Kostyuk's behaviour, clearly a consequence of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, left many online viewers unhappy. "That's just disrespectful and unsportive. She [Kostyuk] should be fined for this," wrote one online user.

"There was no need to humiliate the poor girl [Blinkova]," wrote another.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever