“I was on a mission to my country”: blue skirt and Short-sleeved blouse The yellow, the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina defeated the Russian Anastasia Potapova on Tuesday at the WTA tennis tournament in Monterrey, Mexico.
“All the pay I get here will go to the army, so thank you for your support,” she said excitedly, to the applause of the public, after her easy victory (6-1, 6-2) over the 20-year-old Russian. 81st in the world.
With a serious face, seed No. 1 repeatedly brought his right hand to his heart after his victory. The Ukrainian and the Russian exchanged official greetings at the end of the match.
Ukraine, the 15th in the world, had initially considered boycotting its struggle to protest the invasion of its country by Moscow. Svitolina had warned on Monday that she would refuse to play against Russians or players from Belarus unless they had neutral colors.
The ATP and the WTA said in a statement that Russians and Belarusians could continue to participate in tournaments, but “not under the flag” of their country “until recently”.
Russia has been the subject of a series of sporting sanctions since its troops entered Ukraine on Thursday, including its exclusion from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
