“They get penalties and they don’t give points.” Tsurenko – about the problems of withdrawal from matches

Ukrainian tennis player Lesya Tsurenko once again confirmed her readiness to withdraw from matches against representatives of Russia and Belarus, but a clear position of the Ukrainian tennis and sports authorities is needed.

For withdrawals in major tournaments, athletes will be fined and will not receive rating points.

“Actually, there are many nuances in tennis. If you are kicked out in Helmets in the first round, then yes, the fine is huge, you are not given any prize money and rating points at all. So there are consequences but if there was some advice for everyone then that would be no problem at all. The war and everything that happens in our country is more important than the outcome of the tournament. So of course, if there is such advice, I will stick to it 100%. We’ve tried a lot already, and if I was shooting games by myself, it wouldn’t make much sense. But if this is a national stand, tell us about it, this is our position and it will be our step. I believe there should be a systematic approach here. Everything that has been done so far has been done solely on the initiative and communication of the players among themselves. There are 6-8 Tour players who come up with something, constantly trying to prove their point, fighting with Tours for integrity and honesty.

However, there was no official position from the state, the Ministry of Sports, the National Olympic Committee, or the federation to coordinate the joint actions of the tennis players with the state institutions or the federation and support the players. itself.

No matter how hard our players bang their heads against the ATP and WTA wall, no government body provides their support. Here, we are essentially alone with the two organizations we work for, and we fight alone with our employers. You must understand that before the war in Russia there were major WTA and ATP tournaments that brought significant profits to tennis organizations. Considering all the components of the financial interests of the organizations, it is extremely difficult for us players to oppose such structures and to prove this without the support of the state.