Ukrainian tennis star won't even step on the court if a Russian is on it

The top-ranked Ukrainian woman tennis player Elina Svitolina on Monday said she would refuse to play Russian and Belarusian tennis players in tournaments.

She also criticised the governing bodies of tennis, shortly after two of her compatriots aimed a swing at the WTA when they criticised the organisation for not taking a position on the Russian invasion of their country.

Svitolina, ranked 15th in the world, is the top seed in the WTA tournament in Monterrey where she is drawn to play Russian Anastasia Potapova in her first match. Two other Russians, Kamilla Rakhimova and Anna Kalinskaya, are also in the draw.

"I want to announce that I will not play in Monterrey, nor any other match, against Russian or Belarusian tennis players until our organizations take the necessary actions. I do not blame Russian athletes. I wish to pay tribute to all players, especially Russians and Belarusians, who bravely stated their position against the war. Their support is essential."

But, she wrote, the governing bodies of men's, women's and international tennis needed to act. Svitolina was echoing two other Ukrainians, Marta Kostyuk, ranked 54th in the world, and Lesia Tsurenko, a former top-25 player now ranked 127, who both posted a letter on social media expressing "our great surprise and dissatisfaction with the lack of any response with the situation in our Motherland".

But Kostyuk and Tsurenko stopped short of calling for a ban on Russian players. 

"We fully support our colleagues from Russia and any Russian-speaking tennis player as we understand the unprovoked attacks happened without their knowledge and participation."

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The WTA did on Monday tweet a video of Ukrainian sisters Dayana and Ivanna Yastremska taking the court for a doubles match in Lyon. The video showed Dayana with a large Ukrainian flag draped over her shoulders. The pair lost 6-3, 6-4 to Spaniard Georgina Garcia-Perez and Xenia Knoll of Switzerland. On Sunday, Dayana said she and her family spent two nights sheltering underground in Odessa.

"After spending two nights in the underground parking, my parents made a decision at any cost to send me and my little sister out of Ukraine! Mom, Dad, we love you very much, take care of yourself!!! I love you my country."

Also on Sunday, the Ukrainian tennis federation wrote to the European Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Federation demanding they expel Russia and Belarus.

© Agence France-Presse