‘Special Man’ – ITF Honours Oldest Ukrainian Tennis Player Alive Leonid Staniskavskyi

Leonid Staniskavskyi is 97 years old and the oldest tennis player alive. Hailing from Ukraine, Staniskavskyi is a Guinness World Record holder and truly a pillar for the sport. He has been playing amateur tennis for the last 50 years and he is alone in his age group.

Recently at the Billie Jean King Cup, he was honored by the ITF for his contribution to the sport.

Leonid Staniskavskyi hopes to live till 100

The Ukrainian star lives in Kharkiv, which is one of the cities in eastern Ukraine under an intense siege. While he had seen World War 2  up close, he did not expect to see another war, with such grave consequences again in his lifetime.

He got to fulfill one of his dreams of playing with 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, he now hopes to survive till he’s a hundred years old. Considering the current geopolitical situation, he told Reuters, “I hope I live to reach 100. I have to survive this frightening situation”.

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Leonid Staniskavskyi watches Iga Swiatek’s match

Along with attending the ceremony, Leonid Staniskavskyi also watched the match between Poland and Romania at the Billie Jean King Club. Poland was represented by World No.1, Iga Swiatek, who is having a great run in 2022.

Following her victory in the Billie Jean King Cup tie, not only is she on a 18-match winning streak, but als0 has consecutively won the last 22 sets she has played. She also won 3 WTA Masters 1000 titles back to back, starting with Doha, and then completed the ‘Sunshine Double’. In the process, she just became the fourth woman to achieve the ‘Sunshine Double’. She defeated four-time Grand Slam champion, Naomi Osaka in straight sets in the final at the Miami Masters.

At the Billie Jean King Cup, she defeated Romania’s, Mihaela Buzarnescu in just 55 minutes, Swiatek secured a 6-1, 6-0 without even facing a breakpoint in her seven service games.

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