Marta Kostyuk has sparked huge backlash after suggesting that Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek had a “higher level of testosterone”, which helped them on the tennis court. The WTA No. 27 claimed that she had to work harder to win points against the world’s two best players because they were bigger, taller and stronger than her.
Her comments caused an uproar, with fans accusing Kostyuk of looking for excuses and pointing out that ‘smaller’ players had been able to beat Sabalenka and Swiatek in the past.
Kostyuk has a 0-4 record against Sabalenka and a 0-3 record against Swiatek. Speaking to Tennis365, she argued that the gap between herself and the multi-Grand Slam champions was physical.
“Against Iga, when I have played her, I wasn’t ready to play her at all. I played her over a year ago and she was very strong. With Aryna, I know it is a tough battle. I have my own skills, but at the end of the day, they are all much bigger than me, much taller than me, much stronger than me,” the Ukrainian ace said.
“We all have our own biological structure. Some have a higher level of testosterone, some have lower. It’s just natural and that definitely helps. I feel smaller than them. I try to see how I can beat these players with the tennis skills I have, but I have to work harder to win the points. I have to run a lot more than them to win points.”
The 23-year-old conceded that world No. 1 Sabalenka clearly had more confidence and fewer doubts on the court, but she still thought there was a clear physical difference whenever they faced off.
Kostyuk added: “I cannot make myself 10 kilograms bigger or five centimetres taller, so I have to use everything I had at 100 per cent. For other players, they have more of an advantage in other things. This is just the way I am.
“I look at the photos when we shake hands at the net and I look so much smaller than some of my opponents. It’s just part of the sport and a very cool challenge for me to take on these players. There are many, many things I can do to be better, but they have an advantage on me.”
The Ukrainian’s claims have not gone down well with tennis fans, who disagree with her assessment. “why can’t she just say they’re better than her. who does she actually think she is, lol,” @noctvail tweeted.
@jumpingbhs argued: “i hate how when a woman in sports is built bigger or taller she’s immediately frowned upon/considered “suspicious” and such weird statement coming from that lady just unnecessarily fuels the whole narrative even more which is quite harmful towards her fellow female competitors.
“it’s not 1950’s anymore and it’s totally fine for women to be taller/bigger and take advantage of their built and genes instead of basically blaming other women for their skill issues!”
And @enieleverdeen added: “Giiiirrrrllll you’re the same height as Iga, the real issue is your lack of clutchness. Bringing size and testosterone into it is uncalled for and disrespectful.”
Kostyuk is listed as 5ft 9” on the WTA website, and other fans were quick to point out that smaller players, including 5ft 4” Jasmine Paolini and 5ft 6” Leylah Fernandez, had been able to lift titles and reach Grand Slam finals, and get wins over Sabalenka or Swiatek.
“mind u paolini is 5’4 and just beat iga,” @hamiltonistas wrote. @garside_geoff tweeted: “Leylah Fernandez is lighter than Marta. She has 5 WTA titles.”
@looking_finding explained: “Marta is literally the same size as Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula Only players in the top 10 taller than her is Keys, Aryna, Elena and Anisimova (by 2 inches)- I fear this is a skill, conditioning, and mental issue.”
Kostyuk’s comments also sparked a telling reaction from world No. 76 Yulia Putintseva, who is one of the tour’s shorter players at 5ft 4”. The former top-20 star commented an eyerolling emoji on a graphic containing Kostyuk’s quotes on Instagram.