Tsurenko defiant on message to fellow Ukrainians ahead of French Open: "We just have to go and beat them on any field"

Lesia Tsurenko, like many other Ukrainians, hasn't been happy with the way the ATP and WTA handled the war in Ukraine which is why she's urging compatriots to beat Russians on the field.

The war in Ukraine has left the tennis world in limbo as the situation is very complicated with a huge number of players from both countries involved. According to the Ukranian side, the leading orgs didn't do a very good job which leaves the Ukranian players to only try to beat them on the court.

She urged them to do that ahead of the French Open:

"My message for the French Open is it is like what I said about other sports - we just have to go and beat them on any field. There is no sense for Ukrainian sportsmen to give up. What sort of message does that give? In tennis, we tried so many things to ban them and the tennis organisations do not want to listen to us."

She also spoke about the Russian side of things revealing that only one player reached out to express regret about the situation:

"Just one person spoke directly to me the first day of the war. That person told me with tears in their eyes that everything going on is so terrible. Now no more players talk to me. I do not have much sympathy for any of them. I can just say if they suffer we suffer much more. There are many ways that you can help in these cases. You can change citizenship or move your family if you are afraid. I honestly do not think they want to speak out because those who support the war will be revealed."