Ukrainian tennis star claims players have fought to repeat Wimbledon Russia ban | Tennis | Sport

And Kostyuk cited the players’ status as competitors on the tennis tour as another reason they were forced to compete alongside the Russians. Unfortunately, we are not independent players. We work in the WTA and ATP organizations and we don’t have much power to make changes, he continued.

Lesia Tsurenko also took part and the world number 81 recently hit the headlines when she withdrew from her match against Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in Indian Wells. The Ukrainian professional claimed to have suffered from panic attacks after a shocking exchange with WTA boss Steve Simon, who told her that the opinions of her Russian rivals would not be disturbed.

It’s an ethical conflict every time we play against them. It affected me to the point where I had panic attacks,” Tsurenko said, referring to Indian Wells.