World No 1 Iga Swiatek and retired pro Sergiy Stakhovsky have called out their fellow tennis players for ignoring and forgetting about the war in Ukraine.
The French Open champion held an exhibition tournament in her home of Poland over the weekend to raise money for the war, and secured over £400,000 to help the efforts in Ukraine.
Swiatek was one of the first players to show her support for Ukraine by donning a blue-and-yellow ribbon in her matches shortly after the war began, and she sent her support to the country after winning the French Open. Over the weekend the Pole held the Iga Swiatek and Friends event to raise money for the country, totalling £400,000 over the weekend.’
During the event, in which she was joined by Ukrainian stars like Elina Svitolina and Stakhovsky, the world No 1 admitted she thought some of her colleagues had been contradicting themselves by stopping their support for the country. “Many players have taken off their (Ukrainian) armbands that they wore for a few matches in February,” the two-time Major champion said.
The 21-year-old admitted she found it “a bit contradictory,” adding: “but above all I’m concentrating on what I can do to help.” But retired former ATP world No 31 Stakhovsky was more brutal on his fellow players, sharing his disappointment at the lack of pros – especially from Russia – who were speaking out.
