Kostiuk shook hands with former Russian player Kasatkina after the match.

Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostiuk won in the second round of the tournament in Rome

Marta Kostiuk played the second round match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome against Daria Kasatkina, who now represents Australia. The Ukrainian won in two sets with a score of 6:4, 6:2. Marta's next opponent will be Leylah Fernandez from Canada.

Kasatkina changed her citizenship from Russian to Australian

After the match, Kostiuk greeted the Russian player, who expressed her dislike for Russian aggression. In March of this year, Kasatkina changed her citizenship to Australian. Alexander Kozhevnikov shared his thoughts on this situation in the blockquote tags.

“Kasatkina's decisions and statements speak about her upbringing. For her, the feeding trough is more important than the Motherland. This girl simply has no Motherland. And there is no gratitude to the Motherland that raised her. They paid her money, so she left...” - noted Kozhevnikov.

In 1999, Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation as president of Russia when Kasatkina was only 2 years old. Yeltsin died in 2007 when the girl was only 9 years old.

It is interesting what can happen to the careers of athletes after changing citizenship. It is also important to observe the further successes of Marta Kostiuk in the tournament in Rome and the public reaction to Daria Kasatkina's decision. Ukrainian athletes continue to promote Ukraine on the international stage and make us proud of their achievements.