Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina, the 15th racket in the world, announced that she will lose the Monterrey tournament instead of facing a Russian opponent, unless the WTA intervenes.

The 27-year-old calls on the women’s tennis circuit to adopt the form of the Olympic Games, forcing Russian players to identify themselves under a neutral flag.

In a message posted on Twitter on Monday, Svitolina wrote that she did not want to play her first-round match with Anastasia Potapova “nor any other match with Russian or Belarusian players” until the WTA, the ATP and the International Tennis Federation. (ITF). adopt neutrality practices such as those of the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC prohibits athletes from representing Russia, displaying the Russian flag and refusing to play the Russian national anthem.

Svitolina demands the same treatment on all international tennis courts in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

“I do not blame any professional Russian athlete,” Svitolina said. They are not responsible for the invasion of our homeland. “

Svitolina has reached the semifinals of the Grand Slam twice and has 16 singles titles in the WTA Tour. It has already risen to 3rd place in the world.

Another Ukrainian player, Lesya Tsurenko, wrote on Twitter that she and other athletes were very surprised and disappointed when they saw the lack of response from the major tennis federations.

Tsurenko, the 127th player in the world and former No. 23, called on the WTA to immediately condemn the Russian government’s aggression.

The ITF said it had canceled all its scheduled tournaments in Russia for an “indefinite” period of time and that no events would be held in Belarus this year either. The ITF has also postponed a tournament scheduled for April in Ukraine for security reasons.

“It’s a rapidly changing situation. We are constantly monitoring events and staying in touch with the ITF tennis family, board and security experts to determine the next steps. “We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” the ITF said in a statement issued Monday.

“Right now, our priority remains the safety of those who participate in our tournaments. We will obviously provide more information as soon as possible “, we can read in the document.

The WTA and ATP have not yet responded to requests for comment from the Associated Press.