The world’s top tennis player, Elina Switolina, is organizing a tennis camp in Leszno. The event cannot take place in Ukraine, but it will be held in Poland once again. Mikhail Filima, a former tennis player and now captain of the Ukrainian team in the Billie Jean King Cup, will also appear with Svitolina.
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What does the tennis reality look like in Ukraine?
Filima told Sport.pl what the tennis reality looks like in Ukraine today. – Playing tennis is very difficult for Ukrainians. It’s a bit easier for those who work as professionals. They can organize training outside their homeland and pursue a career virtually exclusively abroad – he points out.
– However, they are still under a lot of mental strain. I talk to the players and I know how overwhelmed they feel by this – added our interlocutor, who is in constant contact with, for example, Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostiuk, the biggest stars of Ukrainian tennis.
The youngest are in the worst situation. – I am the owner of a tennis club in Kiev. We had to build a bomb shelter. During almost every training session, we go to the shelter when the alarm goes off in the city. We cannot risk the lives of children. These are situations that young tennis players do not encounter in many other countries, he points out.
According to Filima, Russians and Belarusians should not play in WTA, ATP or Grand Slam tournaments. Ukrainian tennis players have tried to convince tennis officials on this matter, but so far they have not succeeded.
Our interlocutor has just returned from the USA. – I was in New York now for the US Open. None of the Russians or Belarusians wanted to talk or shake hands with the Ukrainians. They just walked past us. Maybe it’s better for both sides? But it is very sad and difficult – he points out.
Netflix skipped, many tennis players stopped wearing ribbons
During the meeting with Filima, the conversation also touched on Iga Świątek. – I respect Iga very much for the support she gives us. It’s a beautiful thing, he admits. Świątek organized the “Iga Świątek and Friends for Ukraine” event in Krakow a year ago. Over two and a half million zlotys were collected.
The producers of the Netflix tennis series “Break Point” appeared in the capital of Lesser Poland, but in the episode dedicated to the Polish tennis player there were no shots from the charity event. In both seasons, there were also no statements by Ukrainian tennis players. The war was told only from the perspective of the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. – I have not heard that any of the Ukrainian tennis players received an offer from Netflix to take part in the series – says Filima.
However, the coach of the Ukrainian national team has no grudge against either the creators of the production or those who are not involved in supporting his homeland. – I understand both those tennis players who stopped wearing the Ukrainian ribbon, and Iga Świątek, who still decides to do so. I guessed that many people in tennis might feel tired of the war and have their own affairs. Life has to go on and I certainly don’t expect everyone to see it from our perspective. However, I appreciate those who continue to support us, he concludes.
2023-09-15 18:19:00
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