Violent allegations on the women’s tennis tour!
Tennis professional Eva Lys (20) from Hamburg is currently playing a tournament in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana). There, her colleagues from Russia behave in a frightening manner.
Lys reports: “There’s no denying what’s happening in the world right now. And there are girls who keep walking around in their Russian suits and making fun of the whole situation. That breaks my heart.”
Her family is from Ukraine. She herself came to Hamburg with her parents when she was one year old. Lys continues: “There are many Ukrainians or players with Ukrainian roots here who are not doing well at all. I find it disrespectful to walk around in these suits and say horrible things. That just hurts. And I think that’s not human.”
The German tennis champion from the Club an der Alster sets an example: “I’ve made the decision that I’ll play in the colors of Ukraine all week.”
How did that go down? “There was no verbal reaction to my outfit,” reports Lys. “But you could feel the looks. The air is very thick.”
Photo: private
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/lys-in-ihrem-gelb-blauen-turnier-outfit-329be919b8df4bbc81b041f2e6938d5c-79337444/Bild/3.bild.jpg”/> Lys in her yellow and blue tournament outfitPhoto: private
World No. 311 admits: “The last few days have not been easy. It’s extremely difficult for me to concentrate on tennis. At the moment I can’t even imagine what could give me a bit of a distraction. Otherwise, you always have the option of separating what’s happening off the pitch and on the pitch. But at the moment I can’t separate that.”
Nevertheless, she won her first round match against Ksenia Zaytseva (17/Russia) 7:5, 7:5 at the ITF tournament on Wednesday.
That is why she supports the ITF and WTA regulation that Russian and Belarusian players are no longer allowed to compete under the name and flag of their country. “This statement is important for all of us at the moment.”
And fortunately there is also support from my colleagues. “Girls from whom you get a lot of support and who go through this time with us. There really are some good souls there. They give you the strength to be back on the pitch in the morning.”
Lys’ family is from Kyiv. “That said, the days were incredibly difficult for us. Because we didn’t know how to get them out.”
Her grandparents got by in the car. In the back three dogs and six newly born puppies. They stayed in the car for three days. “On Tuesday we finally got the news that they were able to cross the Polish border. That was the first night we slept reasonably well. The body just didn’t shut down before that.”
The great-uncle is still in the embattled capital. “He is chief physician in the accident clinic and operates on up to 15 people a day. soldiers, civilians. He sleeps in bunkers. You can’t really imagine something like that. It’s really about survival there.”
Lys and her parents keep in touch with friends and relatives by phone and internet. “Hearing the broken and crying voices – that’s very upsetting.”
