McEnroe, Alcaraz, Tiafoe and Svitolina among players involved in Stars of the Open Ukraine relief event

Host of current and former players will take part in the Stars of the Open Ukraine relief event.

The tournament is set to be organised on August 23 to raise funds to help the war-affected people in the European country.

The competition will feature the former world number one America’s John McEnroe, current men’s world number one Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, America’s Frances Tiafoe, Chris Eubanks, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and America’s Jessica Pegula.

Ukraine has been badly affected after the invasion of Russia which started in February 2022. Since then, both sides have suffered the loss of human lives because of the armed conflict.

The world of tennis has also been affected because of the ongoing conflict as Russian and Belarusian players were banned from taking part in Wimbledon in 2022.

They were allowed to participate this year but Svitolina, just before her much-awaited match at Wimbledon against the former world number one Victoria Azarenka in the mega-event, openly declared that she will not have a handshake with any Russian or Belarusian player until every Russian soldier leaves Ukrainian soil.

The decision received a mixed reaction from the different quarters in the tennis world where some appreciated her stance whereas others were of the view that athletes must be treated differently.