"It’s really brave from her": Svitolina thankful to Kasatkina for speaking out against her home country as Roland Garros tie approaches

Elina Svitolina will put her winning streak on the line at Roland Garros (French Open) when she faces Daria Kasatkina in her next match at the event.

The Ukranian has been going strong since starting the win streak at the Strasbourg Open last week where she ended up with the trophy. A few wins during that time were against Russian players and as it's customary by now, she didn't shake hands with any of them. She was questioned recently at Roland Garros about the decision and explained the reasons behind it.

“Can you imagine the guy or a girl who is right now in the front line, looking at me and I’m acting like nothing is happening. I’m representing my country. I have a voice. I’m standing with Ukraine.

"What the Russian government, Russian soldiers are doing on our land is really, really terrible. So that’s why it follows. We are Ukrainians, we all unite for one goal, for the goal of winning this war, and we do everything what is on regarding this topic.”

Her next match at the event will once again feature a Russian but it's Daria Kasatkina, a player who quite publicly took a stance against the war.

The popularity of Kasatkina back home hasn't been the greatest because of it, especially after she came out as well. She's been criticised by government officials as well but she doesn't care. She speaks about what she believes in. Svitolina thanked her for her bravery ahead of their match:

“I’m thankful to Dasha for taking this position. That’s what you expect from others, as well. It’s really brave from her."

It will be interesting to see whether we see a handshake in this one considering the position of Kasatkina but it's more likely that we won't again.