WTA stripped Ukrainian tennis player of ranking points after father missed emails regarding tournament participation

Ukraine’s young tennis player was stripped of important rating points star after her father missed an email because of fighting for his country. The European country is in war with Russia since 2022 which has result in the death of hundreds on both sides.

Ukraine’s young tennis player, Oleksandra Oliynykova, who recently lifted her sixth title in her career, which was the ITF W35 event in Italy, was penalised after her father missed an email from the WTA. As per a report from English media outlet Daily Express, the reigning world number 274’s father, Denys, who used to communicate with the WTA on behalf of his daughter, was about participation in the WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo, which was eventually won by former world number one Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

The report stated that Denys received four emails from the WTA, three about whether they wanted to stay in the competition or withdraw from it, and one about confirmation that his daughter was inducted in the qualifying round. However, Denys was on his duty and did not receive any email until the next morning when he returned to the area where there was access to the internet. As per the report, on Monday, the player was informed that she was not allowed to take part in an ITF event and that she was stripped on points as well.

Oliynykova was also quoted in the report where she asked for one time exemption from the WTA. "Last week, I played one of the best tournaments of my career, winning the title through hard-fought and fair competition, earning valuable WTA points. This victory brings me closer to my first Grand Slam qualifying event,” she said. “Since I did not have a remarkable junior career, do not have a sponsor or an agency managing my career, and have never received a wildcard for any tournament in almost eight years on tour, this path has been long and difficult. The only mistake our team made in this situation was that my father was unable to respond to the unusual WTA email as quickly as other players’ teams — within a few hours. We fully accept our responsibility and will do everything possible to ensure such a situation does not happen again in the future. However, to be denied the chance to play my first Grand Slam simply because my father was at war and couldn’t reply to your email in time seems like an overly harsh punishment. So I respectfully request a one-time amnesty. I am willing to pay the fine, but I sincerely ask you to keep the WTA points I earned through honest and fair competition."