Tennis
Ex-tennis player Dolgopolov in Kyiv to ‘defend his country’
(Paris) Former Ukrainian tennis player Alexandr Dolgopolov, 33, has returned to his country and taken up arms to defend his hometown of Kyiv, he announced on social media on Wednesday.
“Hi Kyiv, I’m back to help as I can and defend our country”, published the former world number 13, in 2012, winner of three tournaments on the ATP circuit, on the Instagram network, explaining in particular that he put his mother and sister sheltered in Turkey before the conflict even started.
“I was lucky, a former professional soldier taught me how to shoot for 5-7 days,” writes the ex-tennis player. “I didn’t become Rambo in a week, but I’m quite comfortable with weapons,” continues the Ukrainian, who retired in May 2021 due to recurring wrist injuries.
He also fed his Twitter account on Tuesday with a photo of his bulletproof vest, helmet and rifle, along with the caption: “Before it was rackets and ropes, now that’s it…”. On Instagram, he claims to have returned with other volunteers to Ukraine “crossing Europe” from Zagreb, before entering his country through Poland.
Also in Ukraine is another tennis player, Sergiy Stakhovski, 36, who hopes “not to have to use a gun”, he told the BBC, although he says he knows “how to use one”. Known for having beaten Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013, from the 2and turn, Stakhovski had retired after the last Australian Open in January.
In addition to Dolgopolov and Stakhovski, there are also several other sports personalities in Kyiv, starting with the legend of Ukrainian boxing and sport, Vitali Klitschko, current mayor of Kyiv, and his brother, Vladimir, also a long-time world heavyweight champion, who enlisted with the reserves.
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Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.