Tsurenko: There was no official position from the state, the Ministry of Sports, the NOC and the federation

Ukrainian tennis player Lesya Tsurenko expressed dissatisfaction with the inaction of Ukrainian sports officials in relation to Ukrainian tennis players who meet with representatives of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus during the competition.

“Indeed, there are many nuances in tennis. If on Helmets in the first round you are removed from the game, then, yes, the fine is huge, you are not given prize money at all, as well as points in the rating. That is, there are consequences, but if there were some recommendations for everyone, then this would not be an issue at all. The war and everything that happens in our country is more important than the result in the tournament. So, of course, if there is such a recommendation, I will adhere to it 100%.”

“We have already tried a lot, and if I was filming the matches alone, this would make little sense. But if this is a national position, tell us about it, that this is our position, and this will be our step. I believe that there should be a systematic approach here. So far, everything that has been done has been done solely on the initiative and communication of the players among themselves. There are 6-8 Tour players who come up with something, constantly trying to prove their opinion, to fight for truth and honesty with the Tours.

“But there was no official position that would support the players and coordinate any joint actions of tennis players together with state bodies or the federation, either from the state, or from the Ministry of Sports, or from the National Olympic Committee, or from the federation itself.”

“No matter how much our players themselves beat their heads against the wall of the ATP and WTA, none of the state bodies provides their support. We are here one on one with two organizations in which we are essentially at work, and we are fighting alone with our employers. You need to understand that before the war in Russia there were major WTA and ATP tournaments, which brought considerable profit to tennis organizations. Considering all the components, on the financial interests of organizations, it is extremely difficult for us, the players, to resist such structures and prove the case without the support of the state.”

“It only surprises me that when all this had just begun, then our Ukrainian sports functionaries did not see that something was wrong with tennis? Nothing bothered them, our sports leaders. Didn’t it seem to them that something was happening, to put it mildly, strange, something actually unacceptable? Or was everything okay back then? Or have we heard or seen someone actually complain that out of how many sports, tennis is about the only one that has decided not to suspend players? Did the Ministry of Sports and the NOC know about this situation? Personally, I don’t know if they reacted to any events, but in the public space I didn’t see any official statement or appeal from any of the Ukrainian sports bodies on any of the situations that we faced last year.”

Earlier, Tsurenko announced her readiness to withdraw from matches under the auspices of the WTA in the event that during the draws of tournaments her opponents will be representatives from Russia or Belarus.

Note that the WTA and ATP allow tennis players from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus to play under a neutral flag. The only tournament that banned athletes from these countries last year was Wimbledon.