Winning and losing doesn't exist with war raging, says Ukraine's Tsurenko

LONDON : Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko reached the second round of Wimbledon on Monday but with Russian missiles raining down on her home country she insisted winning or losing tennis matches had ceased to exist as a priority in her life.

After beating Britain's Jodie Burrage, the 33-year-old spoke candidly about the emotions of playing at the tournament while her home city of Kyiv comes under renewed attack.

"I don't feel good. I feel really worried, especially because I know that they are trying to get the one object, which is 100 meters away from my home, from the building where I live," she told reporters at the All England Club.

"I think when the war started, I start to feel this tension inside of me every time the area where I live gets bombed. And I think even if I work every day with a psychologist, and I try to, to try to avoid these emotions, it's impossible."

Tsurenko will face fellow Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina next when she says she would like both to wear yellow and blue ribbons on their tops as a show of solidarity, although she was unsure whether Wimbledon would allow it.

Kalinina, seeded 29, later told reporters that her family's home had "huge holes" after Russian bombing.

Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarussian in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine means both are spared the 'tension' of coming face to face with anyone from those countries.

Tsurenko said she was relieved that Russian and Belarussian players were absent, even if it was nothing personal.

"I feel good being at the tournament without having to see players from those countries again. In most of the cases it's nothing personal," she said.

"It's just the situation is that that our countries are in a war now. For me it's definitely less tension and