Elina Svitolina put on the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine and beat Anastasia Potapova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 in the opening round of the Monterrey Open, deciding she could do more for her country by playing than boycotting the match. (More Tennis News)
Top-seeded Svitolina earlier said she wouldn't play against Potapova in Mexico or against any Russian or Belarusian opponents until the International Tennis Federation and the men's and women's tennis tours barred competitors from those countries using any national symbols, flags or anthems.
The tennis governing bodies issued a statement Tuesday confirming that Russian and Belarusian players will still be allowed to compete at the top level, but without national flags.
바카라Today it was a very special match for me," the 27-year-old Svitolina said.
"I'm in a very sad mood, but I'm happy that I´m playing tennis here.
바카라I was focused. I was on a mission for my country,바카라 she said.
바카라From the beginning, it was important to be ready for anything that comes my way.바카라
Svitolina is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist with 16 career tour-level singles titles who has been ranked as high as No. 3 and is currently No. 15.
바카라All the prize money that I'm going to earn is going to be for the Ukrainian army,바카라 said Svitolina, who won this tournament in 2020. The Monterrey Open has $31,000 in prize money for the champion.
Svitolina, who broke serve in the first and third games on the way to a lopsided win over Potapova in 64 minutes, will play against Viktoriya Tomova in the second round.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered its sixth day on Tuesday, with a huge convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles on a road to the capital, Kyiv, and fighting intensifying there and in other big cities.
Russia shelled several key sites in Kyiv and in the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens of others, Ukrainian officials said.
In her social media post Monday, Svitolina said her objective in demanding tennis follow the International Olympic Committee's lead and insist that players from Russia and Belarus are only identified as 바카라neutral athletes" was not against individual competitors.
바카라I do not blame any of the Russian athletes,바카라 Svitolina wrote.
바카라They are not responsible for the invasion of our motherland.바카라
