Tennis Related - Off Court Serious Issues

[ti-amie]

Tennis outlet says it altered Marta Kostyuk interview about Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek

By James Hansen
Oct. 23, 2025 6:50 pm EDT

Comments by Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk in which she mentioned “testosterone levels” in comparing herself with the two top women’s tennis players were distorted by a question that was not asked, tennis outlet Tennis365 appeared to acknowledge Thursday.

Before walking back its original version of the article, Tennis365 had said it asked Kostyuk in an interview from the Wuhan Open in China: “Do you feel intimidated by players like Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka?”

The outlet said Kostyuk responded: “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.”

But in a story published Thursday, Tennis365 said that it had “inserted” the question about intimidation between two parts of Kostyuk’s answer to a different question. The original story also used two questions that were not included in its updated recap of the interview, but Tennis365 did not acknowledge those changes in its clarification.

Tennis365 then reproduced her full quotes, which were in response to the question: “When you play Sabalenka and Świątek, how close do you feel you are? What makes them a little better? Their consistency or their mental strength?”

Kostyuk responded: “With Iga, when I have played her, I wasn’t ready to play her at all, I played her over a year ago. With Aryna I don’t know, to be honest.

“When I look at these players, 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. We all have different biological structures.

“Some have a higher level of testosterone, some have lower. I know players who are good players who have higher levels of it. It’s just natural, they don’t take anything. I’m sure of that. It’s just the biology of their body.

“Obviously, that definitely helps. I’m trying to see how I can beat these players with the tennis skills I have, but I have to work more than they have to win the points.”

Tennis365 acknowledged that it had originally omitted part of her comments about testosterone, in which she said, “it’s just natural, they don’t take anything. I’m sure of that. It’s just the biology of their body.”

The outlet said that it “initially opted not to include Marta’s comment about players ‘not taking anything’ as we didn’t want this story to have any contentious undertones.”

Kostyuk did not respond to a request for comment made through her agent. Tennis 365 did not respond to a request for comment.

The WTA intervened on Kostyuk’s behalf to establish the veracity of the interview after its original publication, according to a source briefed on the matter.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/674508 ... l-share-ta

[ti-amie]

[Oploskoffie]

So, earlier this year, ti posted the following about Kokkinakis being one of the non-Russians playing in a Gazprom sponsored exo in Russia in late 2024: viewtopic.php?p=125870&hilit=kokkinakis#p125870

This year, it is Tallon Griekspoor's turn to be one of those making a questionable choice:



While the main moral aspect is the Russian invasion of and ongoing war in Ukraine, there is also the downing of flight MH17 by Russian forces back in 2014 over eastern Ukraine which killed 283 people including 196 Dutch nationals. Add to that the increased hybrid warfare being carried out by the Russians in Europe (including in and near the Netherlands) and it becomes really, really easy to call Griekspoor a dumbass. Not that he seems to care in the slightest...

[Oploskoffie]

Speaking of Griekspoor's girlfriend...



(decided to post it here; not exactly an issue, not much of a shenanigan and whether or not this is considered on or off court is up for debate, possibly... so...)

[ti-amie]

Speaking of Griekspoor's girlfriend...



(decided to post it here; not exactly an issue, not much of a shenanigan and whether or not this is considered on or off court is up for debate, possibly... so...)

[skatingfan]

[ti-amie]

[Suliso]

I've never heard of him. Have you?

[skatingfan]

I've never heard of him. Have you?

No. Almost exclusively a futures player - probably the most vulnerable level of professional tennis to manipulation.

[skatingfan]

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

Full interview (in Spanish):
Alcaraz debe tomar “sus propias decisiones”; la interferencia de su padre es “el mayor error” — entrevista en profundidad con Yevgeni Kafelnikov

– Exactly, that ties in perfectly with my next question: the ATP is trying to get rid of the 250 tournaments.

"It's not a good idea at all. What are you trying to create? You're trying to create this absurd tour where nobody has a chance to break through. Young players need a pathway. In my day, we played Satellites and Challengers, fighting to get into the Tour. Young players need to know how difficult it is to become a world-class player. 250 tournaments are necessary: they help develop young players and promote tennis globally. I remember Alexander Bublik saying a couple of years ago that the 250s were nonsense. This guy won three or four 250 tournaments this year, which helped him break into the top 20. He also gained confidence and became a better player. You need every step of the way."

– Along the same lines, a new Masters 1000 tournament will be added in Saudi Arabia starting in 2028 , precisely at the expense of 250 tournaments…

"We need to promote the game where it's already popular. Without a doubt: in South America, in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, people love tennis and have earned the right to host tournaments. And Saudi Arabia… "I'm not against it in principle, but for them to come in and take over a tournament just because they have an obscene amount of money—they could use banknotes instead of toilet paper—it's not fair. Are you going to eliminate tournaments that have sustained and promoted the Tour for forty years just because Saudi Arabia offers more money? If we continue down this path, I honestly don't know what will happen to tennis in the future.

[ashkor87]

Very rarely do I agree with Kafelnikov but this time...?!

[ti-amie]

Very rarely do I agree with Kafelnikov but this time...?!

I'm the same when it comes to Kafelnikov but I think he's 100% correct.