TSURENKO: “I am very disappointed with what WTA has done. The association does not protect me”

Ukrainian tennis player Lesya Tsurenko In an interview with the French edition of L’Equipe, she shared new details of the scandalous conversation with the head of the WTA and spoke about the lack of support from the Women’s Tennis Association:

“The thing that bothers me the most is that Russian and Belarusian players believe that they can support the invasion of my country and not be subject to sanctions. According to him, that’s just their opinion and that shouldn’t offend me. But of course it hurts. And not just a little! It is difficult to understand how he found the invasion of a country or the genocide of a nation acceptable. All this is very painful and terrible for me. This means we can be surrounded by people who support this war.

Do I feel disappointed in WTA? Yes, I feel abandoned by the WTA, I don’t think my association is protecting me. Talking to Steve, I realized that this was their position, or his position from the very beginning of the conflict. Therefore, little has been done for the Ukrainian players, who were very impressed by the conversation I relayed to them. They supported me a lot. It’s getting clearer for everyone.

All WTA does is donate ribbons in the colors of Ukraine so that each player can show their support for the Ukrainian people. I asked Steve what else the WTA plans to do because the Australian Open provided us with shelter, food and training facilities for as long as we needed it after the incident with the Russian flag. I don’t know why WTA is so shy. I hope we have a conference call with the board and we can discuss this situation.”

It is known that WTA acted as a verbal warning to Anastasia Potapova, who entered the court at Indian Wells wearing a Moscow Spartak T-shirt. Iga Sventek, the world’s first racket, also expressed his criticism.

Lesya Tsurenko: “First of all I want to say that Iga is an amazing actress and girl. I am truly grateful to him for everything he has done for Ukraine, for all the support he has shown.

I think it was very strange to see a player entering the field with the logo of a suspended company. People, especially Russians and Belarusians, must understand what they are doing, what they are showing to the whole world. As for me, this is a sign that a person does not understand all the horrors of war.

Lesya Tsurenko also adds that Steve Simon’s statement that the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Olympic Games will demonstrate adherence to Olympic principles, and that this is another reason why sports officials use tennis for their own purposes to justify their presence in Paris. alarms:

“I am very afraid that our names will be used negatively in the future. Why do I think so? Because the PRC president used the name of Katerina Beindl, who played against the Russians at the Australian Open, to mean: Look, the Ukrainians are playing against the Russians or the Belarusians. After hearing from Steve Simon, who supported the performance of these countries at the Olympics, I was sure he would use the situation to say: Look, here’s a prime time game between Tsurenko and Sobolenko in midfield and it’s all right. I realized that my good name would be used to encourage tennis players, and Russian and Belarusian athletes in general, to compete in the Olympics. This got me very excited.

In the 21st century, Russia and Belarus have decided that they can invade another country. The whole world made a great effort with sanctions and great support. Athletes and many companies have left these countries. We cannot allow them to do this with impunity. This is not normal. Everyone should be aware of this. Public figures, including athletes, should set an example and express their opinions. So, in the context of this war, the decision to bring them back to the Olympics is an important step back after a year where many people died, many terrible things happened in my country, cities were destroyed. I have a friend in captivity, both at the front. They often found themselves in very dangerous situations. Fortunately they survived. They are like my family… Unfortunately, this applies to all Ukrainians. So sad.”

WTA head Steve Simon said in an interview with BBC Sports that the women’s association is doing everything possible for Ukrainian players.

At the same time, Simon still does not comment on meeting with Lesya Tsurenko.