Ukrainian tennis players called on the ITF to remove FTU Vice President Zukin from his post

Players of men’s and women’s national tennis teams of Ukraine wrote a letter to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) with a request to dismiss the vice-president of the Tennis Federation of Ukraine (FTU) Evgenia Zukina.

The statement states that Zukin “allows himself to communicate in a rude manner with the players of the national team, without neglecting threats and blackmail; systematically exceeds official powers; at his own discretion and personal sympathy determines the composition of national teams.

“Highlighting the complete lack of coherence and transparency in the actions of the federation and the use of financial support recently received from an international organization, the players are warning the ITF that Evgeny Zukin is sowing division and chaos, with little to no communication with them, if not in an aggressive manner, while not providing standard assistance for Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup competition,” the statement said.

The athletes appealed to the ITF with an official demand to dismiss Zukin from his positions in the Ukrainian Tennis Federation, the ITF Davis Cup committee, the ITF referee position and the deprivation of any powers in the International Tennis Federation.

The letter was signed by the sisters Kichenok, Marta Kostyuk, Ilya Marchenko, Sergei Stakhovsky, Elina Svitolina, Lesya Tsurenko and Katarina Zavatskaya.

The statement also states that the athletes have sent their request to the leadership of the ATP, WTA, Tennis Europe and the Grand Slam Board.

Recall that Zukin, summing up the match confrontation national team of Ukraine with the USA (2:3) in the Billie Jean King Cup, spoke negatively about some Ukrainian tennis players, who, in his opinion, refused to participate in the match with the USA.

The functionary said that he “hopes that Ukrainian tennis players will change their attitude towards playing for the national team and will be patriots not only on Instagram.”