Marta Kostyuk will face Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the 2026 Brisbane International on Sunday, the first meeting between the two since Kostyuk’s viral ‘testosterone’ controversy. In the hours before the clash. the Ukrainian has broken her silence on the matter and explained how it really affected her.
Last year, controversy struck Kostyuk when her comments on facing Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek were shared by a media publication. The 23-year-old, in the interview, had complained that she did not have the same physical attributes as the WTA No. 1 and No. 2, lamenting that they were ‘bigger’ and ‘stronger’ than her. In one portion of the interview, she had also said that some players had more testosterone than others, giving them an advantage.
“With Aryna [Sabalenka], 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,” Kostyuk was quoted as having said.
However, the comments did not sit well with the fan community on social media, who called out Kostyuk for being ‘transphobic.’ While the publication then shared a clarification with her unedited comments, it was the original interview that went viral, resulting in huge backlash for the Ukrainian.
“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,” she had really said.
Now, speaking in press before the final against Sabalenka, Kostyuk had a chance to address the comments, and she took it well. The World No. 26 reiterated once more that the comments that got criticism were all a misquote, adding that she had only wanted to speak about matters that were close to her heart.
“I think it has never happened to me before that I was misquoted, especially this much, especially talking about, you know, a different topic, I would say. For me, it was a little bit sad, because I felt like if you start talking about things more deep, people just get scared or just get offended or just get, you know, stressed about it, like, in this case was about journalist that, you know, was quoting me,” Kostyuk said.
Kostyuk further noted that she was ‘saddened’ by the whole ordeal, claiming that people had refused to see what she had really said and going off instead on comments that did not carry the exact idea of what she wanted to convey. Regardless, the 23-year-old had no regrets about what she had originally said in the interview.
“So it was sad, because I love to talk about different things. I love to give different perspective on different topics. Yeah, I mean, was not my responsibility that it happened, so of course it wasn’t easy for me for some time, because yeah, I was misquoted big time, but other than that, I mean, people hear, people read in whichever way they want, and at the end of the day, I have nothing to do with it, so I’m fine,” she added.
In Brisbane so far, Kostyuk is yet to lose a set, having beaten the likes of Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva and Jessica Pegula. Same is true in the case of Sabalenka, who took down the likes of Karolina Muchova and Madison Keys to make the final.
Marta Kostyuk on whether she reached out to Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka for apologizing
In the press conference, Marta Kostyuk also made it clear that she never apologized to Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka after her comments went viral, stating that she did not feel the need to because they were really not what she said in the first place.
“No, because they posted the second article in a few days when it became pretty big. I had an idea to do that at first, because that’s really not what I meant at all. But then when the second article came out, I was, like, okay, I have been pretty cleared out, I would say,” Marta Kostyuk said.
She added:
“If I had said something wrong, I never have a problem to apologize or to reach out to someone or whatever, but this was not the case at all. I don’t think a lot of people have read that second article, because obviously it was not clickbait anymore, so no drama, not interesting.”
Kostyuk will be gunning for her second career title on Sunday against Sabalenka in the Brisbane International final.
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