Strong open letter from Ukrainian tennis players on the invasion of Russia: “Silence is a betrayal”

The Ukrainian players of the circuit not only had to deal with the consequences of the invasion into their home country, but also made many efforts to help their homeland. The solidarity of both the men's and women's circuits, in general, was notorious but through an open letter, they asked for a strong hand in the upcoming events.

Elina Svitolina is one of the best players in Ukraine for a long time. She recently published passionate writing stating that players from Russia and Belarus, who often have more followers than some of the world's top leaders, should talk more about what is happening with the invasion. In addition, it urged the governing bodies to take action in this regard.

The message was shared by other Ukrainian players such as Marta Kostyuk. The complaint via social media came after Wimbledon issued a statement banning all Russian and Belarusian players from participate in the tournament, as a sign of protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the early days of the conflict, Svitolina made a sincere promise to her community: that she would distribute her profits for humanitarian aid and military efforts in Ukraine.

Not only she, but other Ukrainian players on the circuit have also had to go through a lot, due to the situation in their country. For example, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Alexandr Dolgopolov enlisted in the Ukrainian army, and Dayana Yastremska, who fled the country with her sister, also pledged to donate her profits to humanitarian efforts.

This Wednesday, Ukrainian tennis players published an open letter with Stakhovsky as the main protagonist. Within the publication they ask the authorities of the circuit both ATP and WTA to make firm decisions and “to exclude and ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in any international event.” And he closed with a forceful sentence: “There comes a time when silence is a betrayal, and that time is now.”

THE COMPLETE MENU OF UKRAINIAN TENNIS PLAYERS

Dear tennis community.

Ginetta Sagan once said, “Silence in the face of injustice is complicity with the oppressor.” This couldn't be more true at this time.

On February 24, 2022, Russia, with the support of Belarus, attacked Ukraine. Now there is a war in our country, in our house. All Ukrainians are forced to leave their homes and fight for their lives. For more than 50 days, Russian forces have been shelling our cities and killing civilians, as well as using the territory of Belarus to bomb Ukraine from the west and north. Millions of people have been left homeless, millions of children now know what explosions, fear and death are like. All this is happening right now in central Europe.

As athletes we live a life in the public eye and, therefore, we have an enormous responsibility. Some of our posts and opinions on social media reach a larger audience than that of regional television stations. In times of crisis, silence means being in agreement with what is happening. We realized that some Russian and Belarusian actors vaguely mentioned the war at some point, but they never clearly stated that Russia and Belarus started it on the territory of Ukraine. The very silence of those who choose to remain so at this time is unbearable, as it leads to the continuation of the murders in our homeland.

We demand that the WTA, ATP and ITF ensure that players representing Russia and Belarus answer the following questions

1. Do you support the invasion of Russia and Belarus into the territory of Ukraine and as a result the war initiated by those countries?

2. Do you support the military activities of Russia and Belarus in Ukraine?

3. Do you support the regime of Putin and Lukashenko?

Where appropriate, we demand that Russian and Belarusian athletes be excluded and banned from competing in any international event, as Wimbledon has already done. There comes a time when silence is a betrayal, and that time is now.

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