It has been 520 days since the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out. The tennis community also had to face the consequences of the conflict as it caused indifference among stars from the respective countries. Iga Swiatek previously revealed that the locker room had a tense atmosphere during the French Open. Several contentious incidents have rocked the tennis world. From Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, refusing to shake hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros to Elina Svitolina, doing the same to Victoria Azarenka during the Wimbledon Championships.
In the recent Ladies Open Lausanne in Switzerland, Mirra Andreeva of Russia faced her Ukrainian opponent, Dayana Yastremska. The Ukrainian was not pleased with the social media actions of the rising Russian star and expressed it on her social media.
The Ukrainian player condemned the actions of the Russian rising star, Mirra Andreeva
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Andreeva faced Yastremska in the second round at Lausanne and defeated her in straight sets. Nearly 2 days after her defeat, the former World No.21 posted a story on her Instagram asking the WTA to take action against the Russian.
Yastremska tagged WTA and wrote, “I wanted to post about a recent situation in Switzerland which I find hardly acceptable. The tennis instances are unfortunately remaining indifferent to the atrocities committed in Ukraine.” She then revealed what compelled her to write this post and also the controversial actions of Andreeva.
View this post on Instagram
The Ukrainian further explained, “Recently, I asked that sanctions be taken against Mira Andreeva for having liked social media posts which clearly concerned the atrocities committed to Ukrainians and the WTA simply indicated it would not intervene.” The 145th seed disclosed her feelings about the response of WTA, and netizens reacted quite surprisingly to her post.
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Netizens voice their opinions on the actions of Andreeva
Yastremska ended her post with a statement, “I am upset but remain committed to fight for my country, my family and my friends in Ukraine.”?A Twitter user posted the screenshot of this story on the same platform for which Twiterattis came in support of Andreeva, saying that no proof or post that the Russian supported was mentioned.
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While the Ukraine player made her stance clear, people questioned the source of her allegations. Users also accused her of monitoring the social media likes of Andreeva and asked Yastremska what made her confirm that it was the Russian herself who liked the said posts. While some advised the Ukrainian not to mix politics and sports, some commented that both the players have their own right to implement what they believe.
oh wow Yastremaska asked the WTA to sanction Mirra Andreeva over some of her recent social media activity pic.twitter.com/nKItTDk8oG
— Ryan (@Some1NamedRyan) July 27, 2023
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The Ukrainian also thanked the Lausanne tournament authorities for their warm reception towards players. Andreeva reached the 4th round of the Wimbledon Championships this year, defeating her compatriot, and experienced 26th seed Anastasia Potapova at just 16 years old. She was the only player after Coco Gauff to get past the third round in a Slam at such a young age. The Russian is being hailed as the next super player in tennis, but the recent controversy could derail her impressive season.
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