Ukraine’s Svitolina won’t play against Russians

02 March,2022 07:06 AM IST |  Paris  |  AFP

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

Elina Svitolina


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 organisations take the necessary actions," Svitolina wrote on Twitter.

"I do not blame Russian athletes," she wrote. "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 (ATP), women's and international (ITF) tennis needed to act.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
ukraine russia sports news tennis news
Related Stories