Players.bio is a large online platform sharing the best live coverage of your favourite sports: Football, Golf, Rugby, Cricket, F1, Boxing, NFL, NBA, plus the latest sports news, transfers & scores. Exclusive interviews, fresh photos and videos, breaking news. Stay tuned to know everything you wish about your favorite stars 24/7. Check our daily updates and make sure you don't miss anything about celebrities' lives.

Contacts

  • Owner: SNOWLAND s.r.o.
  • Registration certificate 06691200
  • 16200, Na okraji 381/41, Veleslavín, 162 00 Praha 6
  • Czech Republic

Elina Svitolina says she won't play Russians as Ukrainian players seek action

tennis player Elina Svitolina on Monday said she would refuse to play Russian and Belarusian tennis players in tournaments. She also criticised the governing bodies of tennis, shortly after two of her compatriots aimed a swing at the WTA when they criticised the organisation for not taking a position on the Russian invasion of their country. Svitolina, ranked 15th in the world, is the top seed in the WTA tournament in Monterrey where she is drawn to play Russian Anastasia Potapova in her first match. Two other Russians, Kamilla Rakhimova and Anna Kalinskaya, are also in the draw. "I want to announce that I will not play in Monterrey, nor any other match, against Russian or Belarusian tennis players until our organizations take the necessary actions," Svitolina wrote on Twitter. "I do not blame Russian athletes," she wrote. "I wish to pay tribute to all players, especially Russians and Belarusians, who bravely stated their position against the war. Their support is essential."

Read AlsoSports world hits back at Russia: Multiple sporting sanctions for war on Ukraine

Sports bodies the world over, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and football's governing body FIFA, have announced sanctions against Russia, which can have far-reaching consequences for the country as a sporting nation in the future.

But, she wrote, the governing bodies of men's (ATP), women's and international (ITF) tennis needed to act. "I believe the current situation requires a clear position from our organizations: ATP, WTA and ITF," she said. Svitolina was echoing two other Ukrainians, Marta Kostyuk, ranked 54th in the world, and Lesia Tsurenko, a former top-25 player now ranked 127, who both posted a letter on social media expressing

Read more on timesofindia.indiatimes.com