No going home for Ukrainian Starodubtseva after Melbourne exit

MELBOURNE : There was one solitary Ukrainian flag on display in the stands at the Australian Open when Yuliia Starodubtseva, the first of six women from the war-torn country playing singles this year, faced Leylah Fernandez on Sunday.

It was quite a contrast to two years ago at Melbourne Park - the first Australian Open after the Russian invasion - when the flag was ubiquitous among the crowds even when Ukrainians were not playing, and many players wore blue and yellow colours.

"It's upsetting, but I don't know what we can do about it: it's like old news," Starodubtseva told Reuters after her loss to Fernandez.

"I hate that part, but people forget and you have other stuff going, another war going on in the background."

The war, which started in February 2022, is closing on its third anniversary with no end in sight.

Starodubtseva's home town of Kakhovka in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Moscow forces since the early days of the invasion, which Russia calls a special military operation.

Some of her family managed to flee before the Russian forces arrived and Starodubtseva had left for the United States a month before the outbreak of war to return to college.

That, however, has not lessened the impact of the war on her.

"I feel like I am one of the people who have been affected the most, because my family is in that part of Ukraine," she said.

FREE STAY

Australian Open organisers are still allowing Ukrainian players to stay and train for free for the duration of the tournament even after they are knocked out.

"At Australian Open 2023, we made a commitment to the Ukrainian players that they would have access to a safe place during their time in Australia and we have continued offer this support since," Tennis Australia