‘I’m Thinking About My Grandpa’- Billie Jean Cup Captain for Ukraine Reveals Hardships During Tennis Tournament

Ukrainian tennis players have been facing a long list of difficulties following the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. An example of the same was seen at the pre-tie press conference of the Billie Jean King Cup. Ukraine is set to play against the USA in the qualifiers of the BJK Cup on 15th-16th April.

Set to play at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, Team USA, has made sure to offer utmost comfort to the Ukrainian team during their stay in the USA. Yesterday, USA captain Kathy Rinaldi asserted that they have organized a team get-together. However, team dinner and comfortable stay look far from being enough for what the Ukrainian players have been facing.

The dark phase for Ukraine

During the pre-tie press conference, the Ukrainian team captain Olga Savchuk asserted that most of her family in Ukraine is living underground in a bomb shelter. Expressing her emotions, she said, “Beyond explainable and Imaginable.”

Learning about the team dinner organized by Team USA, Olga expressed herself, saying, “I’m thinking about my grandpa and aunt who are in bomb shelter now. How I can even have a cup of tea right now? My family is, like, underground. I have goosebumps when I even talk about it.”

In a war-hit zone, the residents of the place are usually one of the biggest sufferers. Ukraine is no different. Opening up about the fear of having their family members shot dead, Olga admitted, “You wake up, first thing you do is check to see if your family is okay, and check the news. We do that basically non-stop.”

The World felt that the Ukrainian captain gave a clear picture of the current situation in Ukraine. However, little did they know that there was much more to it.

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Disturbed by the ongoing crisis, World No. 201 Katarina Zavatska has been willing to stay with her family and support them in these times. However, the current unemployment in the country has left Katarina with no choice but to compete in the professional circuit. Opening up on the financial situation of her family, Katarina said, “What I can do is to play tournaments to earn money, to send it to my family to help them because nobody has a job right now in my family.” 

The non-ending struggles of Ukrainian tennis players

Prior to this season, Katarina used to be accompanied by her father at tournaments across the world. The same was the plan for 2022. However, following the inter-nation conflict, he focused on moving his wife and mother to a safe place in France. However, after dropping them in France, he returned to Ukraine, accompanying other male members of the family in protecting their home country.

Opening up on her family’s struggles, Katarina asserted, “For women to leave without their man, it’s very tough. My cousin, for example, she’s pregnant. I have my niece, she’s almost 5 years old. It’s impossible to be alone in this kind of situation because all the men have to stay.”

Tennis is often regarded as one of the most challenging sports, physically as well as mentally. With high-pressure building on every point, tennis is one of the most demanding sports. Diving deeper, it becomes even more challenging amid situations like the one Ukrainian players are currently facing.

“The first week (of the war) it was tough to do anything. Surrounded by people who listen to music, who laugh, who live, who talk — it was impossible. I understand people have to live, but…”, Katarina said while opening up on the difficulty being faced in concentrating.

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On the cup front, Ukraine will play against the USA. The two have played once before in the cup history (Previously known as Fed Cup) with the USA beating Ukraine 5-0.