Famous Ukrainian tennis player refused to continue the match against the Russian, withdrawing from the tournament

Ukraine's third ranked player Marta Kostiuk (WTA No. 29) failed to finish her second round match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha. The 21-year-old from Kyiv withdrew from her match against Russian tennis player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (WTA No. 32).

In the first set, with the score 2-1 in Pavlyuchenkova's favor, Kostiuk took a medical timeout, after which she refused to continue the match.

The video showed Marta's eyes watering and her coughing as she described her symptoms to doctors.

Later, in an interview with Tribuna.com, the Ukrainian confirmed that her illness was the reason for her refusal to play at the tournament in Qatar.

"I don't feel very well yet. I had a fever for the last three days, and I didn't have time to recover, unfortunately. I tried to play, but my body is not yet able to," Kostiuk said.

Pavlyuchenkova will play sixth-seeded Markéta Vondroušová (WTA No. 8) from the Czech Republic in the next round.

As previously reported, Kostiuk reached the 1/8 finals at the last Australian Open. Thanks to this success, Marta was able to climb to the 28th position in the WTA rankings. This and the success of other Ukrainian tennis players allowed our country to set a historical record.

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