Russian tennis star Anna Kalinskaya sports ‘no war’ attire during Indian Wells match

Russian tennis star Anna Kalinskaya sent a powerful message in her latest Indian Wells match by opting to wear trainers with the words ‘no war’ on them.

The world No. 90 booked her spot in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open after her opponent Harmony Tan retired mid-match, giving Kalinskaya a 6-2, 1-0 win.

But Kalinskaya’s efforts on the court came second to the message she sent out to the world and her own country with her trainers branding a ‘no war’ message.

The 23-year-old posted on her Instagram last week calling for peace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is continuing to use her status to promote anti-war messages.

Russian and Belarusian athletes have been allowed to compete at Indian Wells and future tournaments under a neutral banner as part of sanctions handed out by the International Tennis Federation.

Kalinskaya isn’t the only tennis player from the aforementioned countries calling for peace – Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is the top seed in the women’s singles at Indian Wells.

‘I feel really sad and really bad about Ukrainian citizens who lost their homes in the war,’ she said.

‘But unfortunately it’s not under my control. I just hope for peace.

‘At least we can play. I do understand [why she can’t play under the Belarusian flag], but it’s not under our control. We also feel really sad and really bad about this situation.’

In other news, Andy Murray recently announced he’d teamed up with charity UNICEF to help Ukrainian children impacted by the war and will donate all his prize money earned throughout 2022.

Murray tweeted: ‘Over 7.5m children are at risk with the escalating conflict in Ukraine, so I’m working with @UNICEF_uk to help provide urgent medical supplies and early childhood development kits.

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