The Ukrainian women’s tennis team is holding an important qualifying match in Belek, Turkey, on April 14-15. Glass Billie Jean King Against the Czech team.

Ukrainian tennis player on the eve of an important match of the national team Martha Kostyuk gave an exclusive interview sports.uaHe talked about the preparations for the match, the reason for choosing the dirt floor, and the scandal that developed with the participation of Russian players in WTA tournaments.

– Tell us about the preparations for the match against the Czech Republic. How is the atmosphere in the team? As you know, the field where you will play hosts ITF matches. How are the climatic conditions, the field quality, the balls?

– Training is going well, we are training. We weren’t so lucky with the weather – it rains every night, the courts are soft, wet, they don’t have time to dry completely.

Yes, we play on the same courts, but we have a separate court – it was covered with a black background, so we will not see what is going on around, by the way, this is very good. In principle, everything is normal, we have new balls, new courts every week, so nothing new. We adapt.

FTU

– Is soil the best ground for the match against the Czech Republic? Or maybe you want to play on a different surface?

– Since we are the home side, we generally agreed that the best surface against this team is the ground. In any case, the Czech national team is one of the strongest in the world. Since each of the opponents is a versatile player, I think any news would be appropriate for them. I think if we had chosen any other surface, they would have chosen a team for this type of court. However, since it was the beginning of the clay season, we did not want to complicate our lives and choose another surface.

We decided to prepare as normal and not spoil our plans for individual competitions because it is difficult for all players to prioritize the Billie Jean King Cup. Everyone has a busy schedule, it is not always possible to find the optimum coverage. On tour we play on clay and we play national team matches on hard or grass. This is not very good, so we chose the soil as the soil season has begun.

– You’ve already played Barbora three times. What can you say about him as a tennis player? You start the match first with the Czechs. What feelings, thoughts?

– Barbora is an excellent tennis player, in terms of playing tennis, in terms of her knowledge of the game, I see her as one of the smartest tennis players, which is very important. We always have incredibly interesting matches with him, I will give all my 100% to bring points to the team. It will also be my personal experience to understand what I need to work on, where my game level is right now.

I don’t mind starting first, I always count on draw. If that’s the case, this is the best option for me. I accept and just prepare for this match.

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Marta Kostyuk and Barbora Kreychikova

– What were your feelings after winning the trophy in Austin? This was your first WTA 250 title! From whom did you receive your first greeting?

– Of course, very positive emotions, many years of effort were spent to achieve this result. To be honest, I don’t remember who congratulated me first. When I picked up the phone there were a lot of messages. But I think my closest friend congratulated me first. Let everyone think who you are… (laughs).

– You sent a letter to the WTA with proposals to remove tennis players from Russia and Belarus. Have you received any response yet?

– As always, we received a no-answer reply. There was no solution there. Simple: we monitor your status (we monitor your status), thanks for your feedback. So actually there was nothing.

– Your sister is now at a tournament in Monte Carlo. If it’s not a secret, who is he supporting out there? And who do you support? Not just at the Masters in Monaco, but the men’s Tour in general.

– I think my sister is a fan of young actors like Holger Rune, Lorenzo Musetti because I’m on good terms with them. My sister Zoryana knows them. In principle, he knows many tennis players because he was with me at the Grand Slam tournaments. He knows them personally, so I think he supports them. But personally, I didn’t talk to him about it. He’s just enjoying his time.

Who do I support on the Men’s Tour? I don’t know To be honest, I love watching tennis, especially for boys. She is very attractive. Women are also excited, but when I watch men’s games, I just enjoy it. And in women’s matches, I look at my opponents: where are their weaknesses, what are they doing right and what are they not doing? Therefore, when I watch women, it feels more like work, and men’s is more about enjoyment. But of course I take note of something from them.

– Iga Sventek and Petra Kvitova openly expressed their support for Ukraine. Did you get any reaction after your letter to the WTA with Elina Svitolina and Lesya Tsurenko? Perhaps the Tour’s leadership will respond if they support your first racket and elite athlete initiative?

– Actually, there was more movement around this situation. So people are slowly starting to understand that there is no neutrality here, you cannot choose this option. Because if you choose neutrality, you always choose the aggressor’s side, as if you justify it.

I saw their support, I also saw Andy Murray supporting the Ukrainians. Not only did he support the Ukrainian people, he said that Ukrainians are more important than Russians or Belarusians. I think this will give a kind of freedom of speech as they say, a kind of freedom to the players.

I just think that the WTA has squeezed us and our position so much that the other players were afraid to say anything because they didn’t want to clash with the management. Well, roughly speaking: who wants to clash with management for no reason? Nobody, that’s all. Now I think and hope that the situation will take a different direction. The information you see online is the same information we have.

– Has the Czech national team promised support? When the boys played against Hungary, only Fucovic came and talked about the war started by Russia.

– The Czechs support us in principle. There was nothing that they personally approached here, but we play with these girls often on the Tour, so we know their position. Men are different. For example, Fucovich seldom plays in the same tournaments as Belinsky, the men rarely cross paths. Therefore, someone came and voiced words of support. However, after that Marton, St. Petersburg and played in competitions there. It was a shock to me. So I don’t know what this person’s position is.

The Czechs treat us well. It’s not the same with men, as we see each other almost every week on the Tour. Although we had a joint dinner here, the Czech captain voiced his words of support.

– Elina Svitolina returned to the Tour. Did you talk to him about their debut match? Mikhail Filima said that he wants to invite Elina to the national team. How do you evaluate this opportunity?

– I did not communicate with Elina about this after the birth of her child (about the return to the national team – ed.). But I will say that there are issues that are currently being resolved. Therefore, I think that we will not see Elina in the national team yet.