Since the war began, the player has been so affected that she withdrew or walked over in nine of the 18 tournaments she played. Now, the crossover that she had with Steve Simon left her perplexed.
The world of sport is still immersed in the controversy generated by the International Olympic Committee anticipating that it would open the door for the rehabilitation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, suspended for more than a year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And in the tennis environment -already divided by the decision of the ATP and WTA to allow them to compete under a neutral flag and the Wimbledon announcement that it will receive players from both countries again, after excluding them last year-, the crack opened up even more after an episode in which he starred Lesia Tsurenko in Indian Wells.
The 33-year-old Ukrainian did not show up for her third-round match against the Belarusian on Sunday Arya Sabalenkasecond favourite, for “personal motives”, as officially explained by the organization. But soon after, the world number 95 revealed that the reason for his withdrawal was that he suffered a panic attack related to the war in his country shortly before going out on the pitch, which caused him trouble breathing.
Tsurenko, the fourth highest ranked Ukrainian currently, said that this episode was unleashed as a result of a conversation she had had days before with Steve SimonExecutive Director of the WTAwhich left her “in shock”.
“He told me that he did not support the war, but if the players in Russia and Belarus support it, that this is his opinion, and that other people’s opinion should not bother me. At the same time, he told me that if this had happened to him and he was in my position, he would have felt horrible”, recounted the former 23rd in the world and winner of four titles in an interview with BTUa Ukrainian outlet specializing in tennis.
“In addition, he was confident that the Russians and Belarusians will return to the Olympic Games and said that exactly what is happening in tennis will happen. And he affirmed that ‘fair play’ and Olympic principles would not be violated by this decision, quite the contrary. When I asked him if he understood everything he was telling me, at the height of Russia’s military aggression in my country, he told me yes and that it was his opinion,” he continued.
Tsurenko explained: “This conversation left me in shock. In my last match against Donna Vekic (NdR: prevailed 2-6, 6-2 and 6-2 against the Croatian, seeded 29th) I felt really bad and it was incredibly difficult for me to play. And then everything got worse. When I was about to go out on the court to face Sabalenka, I had a panic attack. I just couldn’t get out. I broke down mentally, to be honest. I hope she can really digest all this information and be able to be ready for the next tournament.”
The player also said that she spoke with other Ukrainian tennis players who are playing the tournament – the first of the WTA1000 series of the season – and that they were all “surprised and perplexed” by Simon’s statements. And she said that they requested a meeting with the WTA Board of Directors to file a formal complaint against the leader.
“How can we continue to believe that our organization somehow protects our rights? I don’t understand how it is necessary to have to explain these things. It is very surprising and very painful,” Tsurenko closed.
The Ukrainian had a very tough year. Since the war broke out in her country, she retired or gave up. walk over in nine of the 18 tournaments he played. The losing streak began at the 2022 edition of Indian Wells, which kicked off on March 9, 13 days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. There he resigned in the first set of his second round qualifying match.
Since then, he could not complete his participation in the appointments in Istanbul (April 2022), Budapest (July 2022), and Mérida and Acapulco (last month), in which he resigned in the middle of his meetings; and in Eastbourne (June 2022), Portoroz (September 2022), the ITF in Canberra (January 2023) and on Sunday, again in the Californian desert, in which he did not directly show up to play. Although the reasons were always physical problems, many point out that this tendency to get injured could have to do with the emotional impact of the war.
