JAKARTA – Organizers of the Indian Wells tournament made Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk angry. The 19-year-old athlete could not understand the organizers allowing the Russian tennis player to compete in the event as a neutral athlete.
The anger was expressed by the world number 54 after her victory in the second round against Ukrainian-born Belgian Maryna Zanevska on Friday, March 11.
"I don't agree with the steps taken. Look at other sports, look at the big sports, what they do, that's all. Seeing Russian players here really hurts me," Kostyuk was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
Kostyuk also thinks Russian tennis players have no empathy for what is happening to Ukraine at the moment. He even advised the Russian tennis player to be more concerned with the difficulty of making financial transfers.
Apart from that, he also admitted that he was not impressed by any peace solidarity that unceasingly condemned the Russian invasion.
"You can't be neutral on this. There was a statement 'No war'. They hurt me because it has no substance. And seeing them (Russian players) face one problem of not being able to transfer money and goods, that's what they're talking about, this to me is unacceptable," he said.
"What happened is no secret. You don't have to get into politics to know what's going on, to know who invaded who, who bombed whom," he continued.
"What is very disappointing is that no Russian players came to see me. Nobody told me they were sorry for what their country did to me."
"One player messaged me, another chatted with me but I didn't hear any apologies, I didn't hear anyone tell me they didn't support what was going on. For me, it was shocking."
What was conveyed by Kostyuk clearly adds to the stakes for sports authorities including the Wimbledon Grand Slam. The policy of allowing Russian and Belarusian players to play as neutrals could come under additional criticism.
Most of the athletes so far have expressed empathy along with calls for solidarity to stop the war. However, there are some Russian athletes who fear the consequences if they speak up.
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