Ukraine's Svitolina urges Russian, Belarusian tennis players to speak out against war

Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina wants Russian and Belarusian players to say whether they oppose the war in her nation.

"For us, for Ukrainians, it's very important that they speak out, that they choose which side they take. We want to know, we want to feel safe about that. Because if they don't say their opinion on this, we don't know if they support their government, if they support the action of the army," Svitolina told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "Because in Russia and Belarus sport is a big propaganda."

In an interview with the AP, Svitolina also addressed mental health and feeling overwhelmed by the anguish of war.

Mental strain led to the former third-ranked Ukrainian's decision to take a break from tennis. She said the stress also accentuated ongoing back problems.

"For me it's been a really rough couple of months mentally to hold everything on my shoulders. That's why it was a better decision to take my time to really settle down," she said. "To be on top of the game you have to be 100 per cent mentally and physically fit. For me it was not the case."

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