Tennis player Miroshnichenko: I consider myself Ukrainian and dream of one day throwing away my Russian passport

Tennis player Veronica Miroshnichenkowho has a Russian passport and speaks in a neutral status, said that she considers her homeland Ukraine and prepares documents for changing citizenship.

“I don’t consider myself an ordinary Russian playing under a neutral flag. I was born in Moscow, but grew up and spent my entire childhood in Zaporozhye. My mother and father, grandmother and grandfather are all from Zaporozhye. I was raised in a Ukrainian family, studied in a regular secondary school for almost 11 years until I left for the USA. So, of course, I consider Ukraine my homeland and consider myself Ukrainian, but with a Russian passport.”

“As for the ribbon that I wear to my matches, I always carry them with me and even ordered a large number for myself, since I have about ten different caps and I wear a blue and yellow ribbon for each one. For me this is a very big sign that I am from Ukraine, it is always with me in my heart. When I play, it reminds me of the difficulties that the Ukrainian people and my family live through, and this adds strength to me during matches. Despite the fact that I play under a neutral flag and that I have a Russian passport, I have no relationship with a terrorist state and I always talk about this on my social networks.”

“I’m generally interested in what’s happening in sports now and I see that there are a lot of Russian athletes from different sports who support Putin, and this, in my opinion, is a real shame. They accept financial support from the sports federation, I could never act like that. Unfortunately, a very large part of people from Russia, including athletes, are silent and think that everything is fine. Many Russian players in America who see me at tournaments know my attitude, they know that I am on the side of Ukraine. It is very important to note that when they ask me where I am from, I always answer that I am from Ukraine, because for me this is the Motherland. I want people to start using their platforms more to tell the truth about the war, I would like everyone to have the same courage as me and the Ukrainian people. This war must end and, of course, we all know that Ukraine will win.”

“I am now actively working on the issue of changing citizenship. Now consulates are working in a very difficult mode and we are trying to do everything in accordance with the law, but it is a complex process. Now we are collecting the documents that are necessary – all certificates from the school, from the federation. We work every day to do this faster. I dream of the day when I will finally throw away this Russian passport.”

“I communicate with Andrei Medvedev – we were introduced by my coach from Los Angeles, Jeff Tarango, who used to play at the top level and has known Andrei very well for many years. My coach wanted me to talk to FTU and tell about my story, because, as I already said, I never considered myself a Russian; as a child, I always lived in Ukraine and played so many tournaments. After all, I played under the Ukrainian flag at the ITF Juniors competitions.”

“Already when I registered at the professional level, my passport was required, and I never had Ukrainian citizenship. The only document that I always had was a Russian passport, since I was born in Moscow and, therefore, even though I did not want to change the flag, I simply had no choice.”

25-year-old Miroshnichenko is ranked 406th in the WTA singles rankings and 238th in the doubles rankings. The athlete lost to Mexican Ana Sofia Sanchez in the final qualifying tournament in Guadalajara.

Let us remind you that Ukrainians Marta Kostyuk, Angelina Kalinina and Dayana Yastremska are performing in the main draw of the Mexican WTA 1000 tournament. Dayana beat Ana Sofia Sanchez in the first round, who knocked out Miroshnichenko in qualifying.