Marta Kostyuk counters Victoria Azarenka's claims of Players' Council's aid to Ukrainian players

Marta Kostyuk has challenged Victoria Azarenka's claims about the aid provided to Ukrainian players by the WTA Players' Council amidst the Russia-Ukraine war.

On March 24, Victoria Azarenka refuted Iga Swiatek's opinion that not enough had been done by the tennis world to support Ukrainian players during the conflict.

"Obviously, there are certain players that have different feelings and behaviours. Overall, I don’t necessarily share the same opinion as Iga does. I would encourage her to look at the things that have been done before she makes comments," she said.

The 33-year-old asserted that as a WTA Players Council member, she could provide evidence of the work that has been done to assist Ukrainian players.

"Obviously, as a player council (member), I am happy to provide all those facts that have been done. And I think that would be a more appropriate way to have that conversation," she added.

However, Marta Kostyuk has challenged the claims made by Azarenka with regards to the WTA Players' Council's efforts to support Ukrainian players.

On April 7, Kostyuk and compatriots Lesia Tsurenko and Elina Svitolina had an online meeting with the WTA about the tour's policy regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. During the meeting, Kostyuk brought up a question she had asked repeatedly on previous occasions.

"Are we (Ukrainians) on equal terms with Russian and Belarusian women?" Kostyuk asked at the time.

The 20-year-old received no response to her repeated questioning until WTA Players Council member Sloane Stephens asked for clarification on the question and offered assistance from the council.

This was the first indication of aid from the Players' Council for Ukrainian players, according to Kostyuk, which is in contradiction to the claims made by Azarenka.

"I'd like to note that the communication with the representatives of the Players' council took place for the first time since the beginning of the war. Until this conversation, no one was interested in what can be and should be done to help Ukrainians, who suffer because of the war," she said.

💬 Ukrainian tennis players had an online meeting with the WTA about the tour's policy regarding Russia's war against Ukraine & Steve Simon's comments.

The following are the comments from Lesia Tsurenko, Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina 👇 https://t.co/1gnsTtzbsB

Marta Kostyuk questions WTA over inaction regarding Russian and Belarusian players amidst Russia-Ukraine war

Marta Kostyuk hit out at the WTA for their decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to participate in tournaments alongside Ukrainian players despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"And in these conditions we have to compete with the representatives of aggressor countries, because the WTA decided not to ban them. Ukrainians are in such conditions because of what Russia and Belarus are doing. In other words, these countries with their actions knowingly created an for their athletes over Ukrainian athletes," Kostyuk stated.

The issues raised by Kostyuk, Lesia Tsurenko and Elina Svitolina come in the wake of Wimbledon's decision to overturn the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, granting them permission to participate in the Grand Slam.