Kostyuk alleged that she was initially told that if she refuses to play any matches, even against opposition from Russia or Belarus, then she will be docked WTA ranking points.

The 20-year-old, currently ranked 38th in the world, has been a vocal critic of the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete in WTA, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and ITF events as neutrals.

She has refused to shake hands with two Russian opponents, Anastasia Potapova and Varvara Gracheva, as well as Belarus' Victoria Azarenka in previous matches.

Kostyuk has claimed that she has been ignored by the WTA Board of Directors after her request for a meeting to discuss Russian and Belarusian participation in tennis.

"We have a ranking system in our sport and if I don't participate against Russian and Belarusian players I will lose my ranking and basically my career will be over," Kostyuk, whose best performance in a Grand Slam was reaching the fourth round of the French Open in 2021, said.

"We spoke to our organisations about this matter that we will not participate with them because this is the recommendation from our Federations.

"They response to this was 'we will freeze your ranking and then once the war is over you can come back to the competition'.

"This was ridiculous to hear and we have been feeling extremely discriminated against for this whole year by the different organisations including the WTA, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and ITF.

"All the basic fair play rules are being rejected, they are not being followed.

"This is what we see in our sport specifically.

"We have not received much support but we are trying and we keep on playing because this is what we have to do to keep our careers alive and fight."

Earlier this month, Kostyuk defeated Gracheva 6-3, 7-5 to win the Austin Open, the first WTA title of her career.

She dedicated the victory to those "fighting and dying" in her home country.

insidethegames has contacted the WTA, ATP, and ITF for comment.