“It’s good news, the international federation meets the expectations of Ukrainians”, reacts on franceinfo on Tuesday March 1, the Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina, world No. 15, after the announcement by the international tennis federation of the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players from international team competitions such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean Cup (ex Fed Cup). The players concerned will still be able to compete in singles, but under a neutral banner and without a national anthem.
franceinfo: How do you react to this announcement from the international federation?
Elina Svitolina: It’s good news that the ATP and the WTA [associations régissant respectivement le circuit masculin et féminin de tennis] react and meet the expectations of Ukrainians. This is another step in the right direction, I think, for people to be united and mobilized together for Ukraine. What is happening in Ukraine at the moment is really very difficult.
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It’s been 6 days since the Russian invasion started, how do you feel?
These last 6 days have been particularly horrible, I haven’t slept much because I contacted my family in Ukraine, my friends, I try to help them as I can while being several thousand kilometers away. One of the biggest cities in our country, Kharkiv, next to the Russian border, was destroyed, it is special for me because I spent several years there for my career. It breaks my heart to see the news and to receive the reactions of Ukrainians. There they struggle, I really hear it in their voice. This is a truly terrible moment in history for Ukraine, for the inhabitants still there. To be honest, I couldn’t concentrate on the tournament [qu’elle dispute au Mexique, elle affronte au premier tour une joueuse russe qui jouera sous bannière neutre]. I posted this message on social media because I believe it is my mission to help through the tennis community.
What do you want to say to your people tonight?
I can’t stop thinking about the Ukrainians who stayed there, who took up arms. The mothers, the fathers, all the volunteers who have decided to help the army and their country, it is something that requires a lot of courage and I think about it constantly. I have decided to donate all the bonuses from my tournaments to the Ukrainian army and to people in need in my country. This is the way to help in my own way.
Your compatriot and former tennis player, Serhiy Stakhovsky, has returned to Ukraine to take up arms: have you heard from him?
Yes, I speak with him every day and I worry a lot. It was a very courageous decision that he made, because he was not in Ukraine and he decided to return there to defend our country: it takes a lot of courage to return to Ukraine to fight, I I have a lot of respect for him.