Marta Kostyuk & Varvara Gracheva should have respected simple act of sportsmanship by shaking hands after ATX Open final: Paul McNamee

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk and Russia's Varvara Gracheva did not shake hands at the net at the end of their ATX Open final in Austin, Texas, much to the disappointment of former doubles World No. 1 Paul McNamee. The former player opined that despite their differences, players must respect the "simple act of sportsmanship" and acknowledge each other's efforts after a match.

Kostyuk beat Gracheva 6-3, 7-5 in Sunday's final to clinch her maiden WTA title. After the match, the two players did not meet at the net for the traditional handshake, something Kostyuk had earlier said she would not do in her matches against Russian or Belarusian players, in light of Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine.

Reacting to the incident, McNamee opined that players simply cannot refrain from showing basic respect towards each other's efforts in a match, which is represented by the handshake.

"Have we stooped so low that the simple act of sportsmanship between two athletes, who are competing as individuals, is not respected? Win or lose, you look your opponent in the eye, and you shake their hand. Period," Paul McNamee wrote on Twitter.

The former Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles champion admitted that he understands where Kostyuk and Gracheva's emotions came from, but believes they should not override respect for the 'traditions' of tennis.

"I understand the extremely strong emotions, but in my opinion the traditions of our sport ought be respected, and player(s) find another way to express those emotions," he added.

Last year, Kostyuk also expressed her disappointment in Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, among many other colleagues on the WTA tour, for not speaking out against the war and the plight of Ukrainians, and being silent about the entire situation.

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Marta Kostyuk dedicates ATX Open title to home country Ukraine

Marta Kostyuk in action during the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Marta Kostyuk dedicated her maiden WTA title to her home nation Ukraine, particularly to those who have lost their lives and others who continue to fight against Russia's invasion. Kostyuk opened up about the same in an emotional speech during the trophy ceremony and also expressed how special she felt after clinching her first title.

"Being in the position that I am in right now, it's extremely special to win this title and I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine and all the people who are fighting and dying right now," Marta Kostyuk said in her on-court speech.

On the tennis front, Kostyuk rose to a career-high ranking of No. 40 after her ATX Open campaign. The 20-year-old started the season at No. 69 in the rankings. She will not turn her focus towards Indian Wells and Miami, where she does not have many rankings to defend and thus has another chance to rise further up the rankings with strong performances.