"We've had roundtables with WTA, ITF, Grand Slams but they chose to go their separate ways" - says Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina has spearheaded an effort of bringing the situation of Ukraine closer to the governing bodies in tennis but she's received very little support.

The tennis governing bodies have taken a stance against the war in Ukraine but did very little after that. That disappointed and alienated a lot of the Ukrainian players who have held discussions and talks with the governing bodies to see what more can be done. Svitolina, as the most prominent player from that country, spearheaded those talks despite being pregnant but she was disappointed by the response.

She said:

"All the Ukrainians, we’ve been having roundtables with the WTA, the International Tennis Federation, grand slams, explaining the help we need, but they chose to go their separate ways. I was sad to find out they took their position. But I have a lot of respect and want to thank Wimbledon for making players feel supported, as well as Ukraine."

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As Svitolina noted above, Ukrainians largely felt alienated by the response feeling like the Russians got more protection after the Wimbledon decision that Ukrainian players got support. She was also disappointed by the reactions in locker rooms:

"Tennis players are pretty much living outside of Russia, training in Europe and the States. This is their decision. A lot of players didn’t even come to us to ask how our family were doing. It created tension. Our Ukrainian people are dying back home, we lost our homes, we lost our training bases, our families are all in danger. Sport has a great responsibility with a lot of media attention, it helps people to understand what is really going on. This is my mission right now."