Alexandr Dolgopolov has continued to express his views with the latest being at
WTA CEO Steve Simon's comments on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which he made during a chat with Ukrainian tennis player
Lesia Tsurenko.
Simon told Tsurenko to 'not be upset' even if Russian and Belarusian players are in support of the war as it is their opinion.
Tsurenko revealed details of her discussion with Simon after withdrawing from her BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells third-round match against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka which at the time was for personal reasons but has later been revealed to be due to a panic attack.
"Steve Simon, @WTA CEO to @LTsurenko:“I don’t support the war, but it’s OK if players support it”. Steve, instead of intimidating Ukrainian women, be a man and take this to the public. Conversation happened with you on duty, people deserve to know, it’s OK, to support genocide," Dolgopolov wrote on Twitter.
In her statement, Tsurenko reflected on her conversation with Simon, who sympathized with her over the situation in her country, before further stating his views on the probable stance of certain Russian and Belarusian players.
"When I asked whether he understood that he tells me all of this while there is an active war against my country going on right now, he said yes, that this was his opinion," Tsurenko said.
"He added that he himself would be feeling terrible, if he was in my shoes, and while he doesn't support the war personally, but if the players from Russia and Belarus do support it, he said, this is only their own opinion and the opinion of others should not upset me."
The 33-year-old player further conveyed that she tried to overcome her feelings of complete 'shock' upon first hearing Simon's views on the war, but could not deal with the emotions hence the withdrawal.
