Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina said she will not take the court against Russian or Belarussian players until the sport’s governing bodies take action amid Russia’s invasion of her homeland.
Svitolina, ranked No. 15 in the world, was scheduled to face Russian Anastasia Potapova at the Monterrey Open in Mexico on Tuesday, but she dropped out of the match.
“…we — Ukrainian players — requested to ATP, WTA and ITF to follow the recommendations of the IOC to accept Russian or Belarussian nationals only as neutral athletes, without displaying any national symbols, colors, flags or anthems,” Svitolina, 27, wrote in a statement on Instagram.
“Accordingly, I want to announce that I will not play [Tuesday] in Monterrey, nor any other match against Russian or Belarussian tennis players until our organizations take this necessary decision.
“I do not blame any of the Russian athletes. They are not responsible for the invasion of our motherland. Moreover, I wish to pay tribute to all the players, especially Russians and Belarussians, who bravely stated their position against the war. Their support is essential,” she concluded.
Potapova responded to Svitolina’s decision in a separate statement posted to her Instagram account, condemning “grief, tears and war.”
“As a rule, even when I was a kid, I dreamed of playing tennis without choosing a match, a country or a partner in the game… for me there is no opponent from any country, I am fighting for victory, my best game, my best result… Unfortunately, now we, professional athletes, are essentially becoming hostages to the current situation,” Potapova wrote.
“I’m sorry, but even though I am a stranger to politics, I am against grief, tears and war. The peace unites the world, and everyone should remain human in it.”
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “recommended” that governing bodies for each sport ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events.
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said in statement that it strongly disagreed with the IOC’s ruling.
On Sunday, Svitolina told CNN that she’s been struggling to sleep over concern for her family, which is still in Ukraine, taking refuge in the city of Odessa.
“I haven’t been sleeping much, trying to see what is happening, how we can help and what we can do,” Svitolina said. “This has been the worst time of my life because I have my parents, my friends, my Ukrainian people who are fighting there for our country. This has been an extremely, extremely tough time for everyone.”
Svitolina further expressed fear that Russia would invade Odessa.
“We are really worried because this part is very attractive to Russia,” she said. “It’s by the Black Sea, it has a port and we heard it could be in big danger.”
Svitolina’s stance came at the same time FIFA and UEFA announced Monday that “all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.”