Tennis player stays put in war zone at 97

Four months after 97-year-old amateur Leonid Stanislavskyi's dreams came true when he played with 21-time grand slam champion Rafa Nadal, the Ukrainian is enduring his worst nightmare in Kharkiv as Russian forces bomb the city.

Stanislavskyi, who holds the Guinness World Record as the world's oldest tennis player, also once had dreams of playing Swiss great Roger Federer - but now his one simple wish is survival.

"I hope I live to reach 100. I have to survive this frightening situation," he said.

"The war started on (February) 24th. From the 24th until now I have practically not gone out. I've stayed at home... I have supplies, the fridge is full. I'm sitting at home, not going anywhere," he said.

"My daughter Tanya is in Poland, she wants to take me there. But I decided to stay here. I have bad hearing so I sleep at night and don't hear anything. Last night there were bombings, in the morning there were air-raid sirens again."

Stanislavskyi survived the Second World War, when he was an engineer who helped build Soviet warplanes to fight the Nazis.

"I never thought that I would have to live through another, more frightening war where people from both sides are dying - mothers are losing their children, wives are losing their sons and their husbands," he added.

"What is this? What good is it? In the 21st century, there can't be war. The war needs to be stopped, an agreement has to be reached."

For Stanislavskyi, an end to the conflict would also mean the chance to resume playing tennis - and possibly to appear at the next seniors World Championships in Florida, scheduled for next month.

He was 30 when he was introduced to the sport and used to train three times a week.

"Tennis is my life, my destiny. I've played tennis at