Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk chooses not to shake hands with Belarusian opponent Victoria Azarenka at US Open

By CNN Sport staff

Updated 1038 GMT (1838 HKT) September 2, 2022

Azarenka (left) and Kostyuk (right) tap rackets following their second-round match at the US Open.

(CNN)Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Belarusian opponent Victoria Azarenka after their US Open match on Thursday.

Kostyuk had told Azarenka via text before the second-round match that she intended to decline the usual post-match handshake given Belarus' role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The pair instead tapped rackets at the net at the end of match, which Azarenka won 6-2 6-3. «It was my choice — I don't feel like I don't know any single person who condemned the war publicly, and the actions of their government, so I don't feel like I can support this,» the 20-year-old Kostyuk told ESPN. «Don't get me wrong, she's a great competitor. But it has nothing to do with her being a human being,» she added.Read MoreKostyuk is one of several Ukrainian players who have called on Russian and Belarusian athletes to denounce the Russian government's decision to invade Ukraine if they want to compete in international competitions. Kostyuk reacts during her US Open match against Azarenka. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The country was used as a launch point for Russian troops in February and NATO officials have said the «vast majority» of Russian air operations in Ukraine are launched from Belarus — though Lukashenko has previously said his country was «being dragged» into the war.«I wasn't surprised. I don't believe that making a big deal out of it is important,» Azarenka told reporters about the handshake, adding that it also happened when she faced Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska in