"I will not do that because this is my sport": Ostapenko vows to fight, admits only option of quitting tennis amid state funding cut

News broke last week about Jelena Ostapenko having her state funding cut by the Latvian government and she has now remarked that she was left with only one option of stopping playing.

The Latvian government decided to take this measure in tournaments played also by Russian and Belarusian players amid the ongoing war but Ostapenko vows to play on and fight.

She said that from her perspective she has no choice in whether these players are involved are not and it is solely up to the WTA.

"Of course, they contacted me, but to be honest, I can't really influence anything because I don't organize tournaments," Jelena Ostapenko said to the Women's Tennis Blog.

"The WTA organizes these tournaments and I don't have the opportunity to play elsewhere. Basically, it means that I cannot play in any tournament. I have to quit tennis. I will not do that because I am a tennis player and this is my sport. Unfortunately, that is the reality."