'Useless' WTA should have done much more for Ukrainian players, says Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina has argued Ukrainian players do not get enough support from the women’s tennis governing body (WTA) amid Russia’s invasion of their country. Svitolina returned to the sport at the Charleston Open after a maternity break, spoke in support of her fellow Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko. The 33-year-old had said she withdrew from Indian Wells tournament because of a panic attack brought on by a conversation with WTA chief executive Steve Simon about tennis’s response to the Russian invasion. “We are afraid, we feel empty. What is happening to Lesia is very sad. People who haven’t experienced it can’t really understand what it feels like to have no home, to feel safe nowhere, to have family in Ukraine, under the bombs, to know that Ukrainian cities are being destroyed. It’s both fear and a great emptiness,” Svitolina, who was the World No 20 before the break, told French sports daily L’Equipe. “The WTA should have done more, much more, on many issues. Now it’s too late. There have been a lot of press releases, a lot of interviews. It was useless,” she said. Last week Wimbledon lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian players that was enforced last year. That decision was welcomed by men’s tennis governing body (ATP) and WTA. It will allow the players to compete as “neutral athletes.” In response, Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk said International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was wrong to argue that Russian and Belarusian athletes already compete without friction in some sports. When queried what her reaction would be if they would be allowed to take part in next year’s Paris Olympics, Svitolina said: “I don’t think about it. It’s up to the Olympic Committee and the Ukrainian Committee to think about it and do their job! My job, as a player, is to get ready.” Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.