Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina pointed out on Tuesday that the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) does not provide enough support for Ukrainian players amid the Russian invasion of their country. Svitolina, who returned to competition at the Charleston Open after taking maternity leave, expressed her support for fellow Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko. Tsurenko had withdrawn from the Indian Wells tournament after a discussion with WTA CEO Steve Simon about the tennis world's reaction to the Russian invasion.
In a previous interview with the French newspaper L'Équipe, Svitolina stated, "We feel afraid, we feel very frustrated; what happened to player Lesia is very sad." She added, "The WTA should have done more and more in many areas; now we are very late."
The WTA, as well as the ATP, welcomed the decision by Wimbledon organizers last Friday to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, allowing them to compete in the grass-court major as "neutral" athletes.
