"If you stand for something, you should say": Svitolina supports Djokovic amid controversial Kosovo message

Elina Svitolina expressed her support for Novak Djokovic regarding the political message controversy at the French Open.

The Ukrainian tennis player, a former world No. 3, has repeatedly referred to the war between Russia and Ukraine, supporting her country's position. She has also criticized Russian and Belarusian players for not expressing their opposition to the war.

Svitolina has already reached the third round after defeating 2022 French Open semifinalist Martina Trevisan and Australian player Storm Sanders. The Ukrainian player addressed the controversy surrounding Djokovic during the press conference following her second-round match.

“Well, we are living in the free world, so why not to say your opinion on something? I feel like if you stand for something, you think that this is the way, you should say," Svitolina opined.

"I mean, if you are with a friend sitting, talking, you're going to say your opinion, he is going to say his opinion. So why not?"

"You know, coming back to the politics in sports, as I think all Ukrainians mention, that it's connected very much because we are all people," she added.

"We all know the politics of your own country little bit, the way you hear something here, something there. For me it's just part of human life, politics, sports, you know, different things. Yeah, it's like that."

In the third round of the French Open, Svitolina will face Russian player Anna Blinkova, who has just caused an upset by defeating the local hope and fifth seed Caroline Garcia.