Ukrainian tennis player, Marta Kostyuk, ranked No. 49 in the world, expressed “surprise and dissatisfaction” on her social media page with the lack of response from the Women’s Tennis Association on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and demanded that the WTA immediately condemn the Russian government and pull all tournaments out of Russia.
Speaking on behalf of all Ukrainian tennis players, she wrote, “Our country, Ukraine is under brutal attack by superior nuclear power.”
“The bombs and rockets are hitting our houses, killing our people, destroying our life,” she wrote.
She asked the WTA to approach the International Tennis Federation, the governing body of world tennis, to do the same.
She added that the Ukrainian players also believed that the guidance of the International Olympic Committee, “which prohibits Russian National team to wear the regalia of the Russian Federation.”
“While doping violation can not be compared to aggression, we believe that insults, attacks, use of force, murder and crimes superior to doping, because they are crimes against humanity,” she wrote.
She ended the post with “Stop the war. Stop Russian aggression. Bring peace to our homes. Be human.”
Earlier today, Kostyuk posted a video from Kharkiv, Ukraine, where buildings were actively being attacked by Russia, with the caption “Stay strong.”