"Maybe I'll be killed. Maybe I'll have to kill" - Retired Ukrainian star Dolgopolov speaks on defending his country

Alexandr Dolgopolov was hoping to settle down after retiring from tennis last year, but the former World No.13 has found himself embroiled in the conflict between Russia and his native Ukraine.

Although he had enough cash and cachet to avoid enlisting, Dolgopolov joined other athletes in Ukraine's fight against Russia. The 33-year old said he never considered not enlisting, stating he "traded a racket and strings for a gun and bullets."

After safely delivering his family to Turkey, Dolgopolov then connected with someone he describes as “an ex-military person.” After a week of private training with the former military marksman, he says, “I may not be perfectly ready, but I’m comfortable with weapons now.” 

He then left Turkey for Croatia, where he met up with friends. They loaded military gear and supplies into a car and drove north. Dolgopolov met his father near the border, gave him a hug and headed into Kyiv.

"Maybe I’ll be killed. Maybe I have to kill. What can I say? This is war", reflected the 3-time ATP titlist. "This has gotten to a magnitude where Russia is really threatening world war and the death toll is very high—tens of thousands of people. Russian soldiers. The Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrainian civilians. They are getting murdered, thousands of them.

"So this is getting closer to a genocide. And for this, I think that every reaction possible [should be deployed]. I hope tennis will take a stronger stand like FIFA has done."

Similarly, Dolgopolov had a message to the world: “We’re thankful for what we’re getting and we see the people in the countries with us. But we need to push more together, because this guy [Putin]—I don’t think he’s planning to stop, to be honest. … The free countries have to call the bluff.”