LUkrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk is the most muy dash with the behavior of Russian tennis players since the invasion of Ukraine: “No one has told me that they regret what their country is doing to mine nor have they apologized to me or to other Ukrainian tennis players. I have no explanation for why why the Russians are behaving like this. It disgusts me to get to the track and see that his only problem right now is not being able to make money transfers and the outrageous thing is that they talk about it”.
Kostyuk spoke in this way at the press conference after her victory against the Belgian, of Ukrainian origin Maryna Zanevska (6-7, 7-6, 7-5), in Indian Wells.
Fear of losing your family
“You go to bed not knowing if, when you wake up, you will still have a family. That was my state of mind the first few days. Then you get used to the situation, you understand what is happening, who is doing what, the tactics of the Russians… At first I felt guilty for not being there “My whole family is there except me, why?” I felt guilty playing tennis, that the sky above me was blue and calm. But it is not healthy. They all fight as they can. My job is to play tennis. This is how I can help. I have never felt so close to my country and the Ukrainian people as today. We are a great family.”
You go to bed not knowing if, when you wake up, you will still have a family
The Ukraine Struggle
“We have always fought for freedom. I read the news, I talked to my family: it’s ok, they are alive. We have always gone in the direction of Europe. That the guy who is in a bunker right now (Vladimir Putin) thinks that we join his country, was a serious mistake. There was a revolution in Kiev between 2013 and 2014. I was there at the time. I remember how united we all were and how we changed governments.”
Opinion on Putin
That this guy could think that after eight years we suddenly agreed to integrate into his country, it was a big mistake that he is currently paying. It’s amazing what our army is doing. Two weeks have passed and they still haven’t taken a big city. Of course, there are many dead, many houses destroyed… It’s terrifying. I have never been as proud to be Ukrainian as I am now“.
‘No to war’ for me means wanting Ukraine to surrender because Putin will never stop
The statements of Russian tennis players about the invasion
“You can’t be neutral in this situation. ‘No to war’ can mean various things. For example, we (Ukraine) could end the war by surrendering. But that was never an option. From the first day I knew that it would not happen because I had lived through the revolution and I knew that people would not want to integrate into Russia. What do they want? Do you want Ukraine to lose? Russia win? Russia lose? I’ll say it a hundred times: Ukraine will never give up. We may lose, although I don’t think so, but Ukraine will never give up. So ‘No war’ to me means wanting Ukraine to surrender because Putin will never stop, everyone knows how crazy he is. So we fight. And these press releases hurt me because they don’t make sense.
The behavior of Russian tennis players
“A player sent me a message, another chatted with me, but I didn’t hear any apologies. You don’t have to be involved in politics to behave like a human being. Everybody knows what’s going on. It hurts me every time I get to the court and see all these Russian players. His only problem right now is not being able to make money transfers. It is unacceptable”.
His hug with Zanevska
“Maryna changed her nationality a few years ago. His parents are in the Ukraine, in a quieter area. Everyone is afraid. I hugged her and told her that she had played amazing and that our parents were going to be fine.”
