‘Why Do They Need to Be N**ed?’- Puzzled Tennis Fans React to Marta Kostyuk’s Paris Olympics Shoot for Vogue

Marta Kostyuk’s bold move has got the tennis world buzzing with questions! Apart from playing tennis, players often take center stage and share the spotlight by appearing in photoshoots for covers of different magazines. Fans have mixed reactions to these photoshoots, with some being instant hits and others not generating the same buzz. For the Ukrainian WTA player, achieving a dream appearance in Vogue magazine came with an unexpected downside!

Before her Olympic debut this year, Marta Kostyuk posed for the Vogue Ukranian magazine photo shoot of the Olympic and Paralympic teams. Clicked by Jan Wasiuchnik, the picture showcases a different side of the 21-year-old’s off-court endeavors. In this case, the semifinalist of the Indian Wells, Kostyuk, is joined by other Ukrainian athletes as well (Anna Gontar, Zhan Beleniuk, Olga Kharlan, and others).

Among them, Kostyuk’s pose reveals her standing with her hands joined and looking straight into the camera. In the photo, a topless Kostyuk is only wearing a pleated white short skirt, while her hair remains tied up behind for clean face look. However, as soon as the former World No. 16’s photoshoot snaps surfaced on social media, the tennis world showed a division of opinions on the subject.

The Stuttgart Open finalist has achieved her career-high rankings this month and is soon going to do her magic in the Olympics for the first time. However, fulfilling her dream of representing her country, Ukraine, on the greatest platform of sports, Marta Kostyuk has already created history by being one of the first Ukrainian athletes to pose naked for a photoshoot.

However, disapproving fans took to social media platform X to voice their concerns about the photoshoot.

Marta Kostyuk’s photoshoot received “distasteful”  reactions from fans

One tennis fan took to X and wrote, “why do they need to be naked? pretty distasteful tbh.” Although not entirely the same, quite a similar feat was observed from the 23-Grand-Slam Champion in 2019 as well. When she posed for “The August Issue of Harper’s Bazar” magazine’s “real beauty” issue, fans saw an unfiltered version of Serena Williams, wearing a Ralph Lauren cape and posing bottomless. Similarly, it also garnered mixed action from the tennis world.

Another fan wishing to see Marta in full clothes let his disapproval known writing, “Marta is amazing… but I would prefer to see her in clothes.. a bit unnecessary to see the flesh.”  Over a decade ago, a similar incident occurred.  In 2013, the former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwańska’s appeared on the cover of ESPN Magazine’s “Body Issue” in a daring photoshoot. The photo featured her posing on a deck chair next to a pool surrounded by tennis balls. That time too, it didn’t sit right with the tennis community and beyond. 

According to this fan, “Why naked? 🙄🙄 unnecessary for an Olympic  athlete 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️.” Turning pro in 2016, Kostyuk’s Olympic dreams have finally come true. However, while some fans do not resonate well with her off-court move, this is not always with every photoshoot. Just a few months ago, Jannik Sinner appeared for a photo shoot with Vogue after his Miami Open title victory. With his green suit, the World No. 1 left fans in awe.

One fan rhetorically questioned, “Who thought this was a good idea 😂,” while another fan replied,” The one responsible for selling the magazine.” Facing criticism in the tennis world for their attires is not uncommon. Eugenie Bouchard, known for her amazing tennis skills and fashion sense, once faced heavy backlash for appearing in multiple photoshoots throughout her career. Bouchard responded to those trollers, saying, “I mean, why stop myself? It was definitely part of who I am, because I think it’s great. Why keep myself in a box? Why stop myself from trying to be everything I can be?”

Another fan wrote, “Why did she even agreed to do this photo shoot 🤦pure Exploitation!!!” When it comes to doing bold photoshoots and raising eyebrows in the tennis world, Maria Sharapova’s name come among the top. Her iconic swimsuit photoshoot at a beach in 2006 Valentine’s Day issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue remains another infamous off-court story in tennis history. Although she received mixed reactions from the fans, her stance on the matter was clear and straightforward. “I love doing new things. Being in a bikini is very different, you don`t have a lot to work with, just your body and sand and water. But I got used to it.”

Despite the ongoing discussion about Marta Kostyuk’s photoshoot, it has undeniably shown her confidence in self-expression.