![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WinterSale.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA frosty exchange followed the final.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Kostyuk continued Ukrainian players\u2019 tradition of declining the post-match handshake with Belarusian and Russian players in protest of Russia\u2019s unprovoked invasion of her home country.<\/p>\n
Sabalenka, in an apparent dig at Kostyuk\u2019s reported comments on some stars\u2019 higher testosterone levels, kissed both of her biceps following her 6-4, 6-3 sweep and second straight Brisbane title.<\/p>\n
During the trophy presentation, Kostyuk didn\u2019t cite Sabalenka\u2019s name, instead praising the spirit and pride of her Ukrainian compatriots and the pain she feels seeing suffering in her homeland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to say a few words about Ukraine,\u201d Kostyuk said. \u201cI play every day with a pain in my heart. There are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now, it\u2019s minus 20 degrees outside right now, so it\u2019s very, very painful to live this reality every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was incredibly moved and happy to see so many Ukrainian fans and flags here this week \u2013 Slava Ukraini.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the lack of handshake afterward, Sabalenka, who congratulated Kostyuk in her speech and said she hopes they face off again, said it does not bother her.<\/p>\n
The world No. 1 said she\u2019s focused on playing tennis and not practicing politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s their position. It\u2019s their position. What can I do?\u201d Sabalenka told the media in Brisbane. \u201cI don\u2019t mind that. I don\u2019t care about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I go into the match, it\u2019s all about tennis and sport. When I go out there, I think about my tennis and the things I have to do to get the win. Doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s Marta Kostyuk or Jessica Pegula there. I still go out there and I still try my best, and I\u2019ll still fight for the trophy. I have nothing to prove. I go there and I just compete as an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her post-match press conference, Kostyuk said her position is simple: She has a public platform and believes she must use it to publicize the pain and suffering occurring in her homeland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have just learned with the war and everything that\u2019s going on that it\u2019s really important to stand up for things and to talk about them, whether it\u2019s war, whether it\u2019s other beliefs, or the position that you have,\u201d Kostyuk said. \u201cNo matter what it is, if it\u2019s what you believe in, you have to talk about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really important for me also personally, because as I said on the court, my house, like the house where my parents live, it has heating, like they have generators, so even if there are blackouts, they can still push their electricity, so they can still heat up their house, but it\u2019s still very cold inside. Like my husband\u2019s parents are walking around in the jackets at home because of how cold it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you know, I\u2019m here, I do my job, of course, this is the most important thing, but at the same time, like, the reality back home is very, very different. So I just, I feel like I cannot ignore it and I have to share it. I have platform for this, and I have voice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, January 11, 2026Photo credit: Brisbane International Facebook Action speaks louder than words. Both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-402822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}