Ukrainian Tennis Star Lesia Tsurenko Condemns WTA Chief As She Claims Injustice Done To Coach With Sudden Investigation Move

The Russia-Ukraine war shattered the pillars of every organization, and tennis is no exception. The war caused the ban on Russian and Ukrainian players till the situation was submerged. It is like the domino effect all over. Players suffered mental health issues and felt that the ban was ridiculous. Lesia Tsurenko even reported a panic attack after talking to the chief of WTA. Soon after, she withdrew from the Indian Wells Masters three months ago. The conversation with the CEO of WTA, Steve Simon, upset her a lot.

Tsurenko’s coach requested an official investigation against the head of WTA and opened a case against him. But the ball he served resulted in a fault. The Ukranian revealed the action WTA has taken, which left her baffled.

Lesia Tsurenko feels WTA ganged up against her

The thirty-four-year-old shared with a Ukrainian website, BTU, that her coach, Mykyta Vlasov, was under investigation by WTA. She added that she contacted her lawyer as soon as she received the mail.

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The four times singles title winner said, “They decided to just get rid of the only person who spoke in my defense in this incident with the WTA chairman. I feel like with such effort WTA is trying to put pressure on me, continuing what Steve Simon started. I can’t believe that in the civilized world it is still possible to see such dirty games, and that the chairman of the company is trying to avoid responsibility for his own actions in any way and will not shy away from using any means.”

Steve Simon felt that players have a right to voice their opinions regarding war. He added that they should not be punished for having an opinion. Tsurenko was aghast upon hearing such a statement from the person who represents WTA. To add fuel to the 46th seed claims, WTA did not suspend a Russian player who publicly supported the war upon the complaint of an Ukranian player. This raised eyebrows about the moral conduct of the CEO of WTA.

Why is the Ukranian against WTA CEO?

Speaking about the interrogation, the Ukranian said, “This indicates that the WTA was simply trying to hush up this incident and the fact of moral failure on the part of the company’s CEO. I was confused and somewhat frightened by such indifference and disregard for the situation I found myself in. I was waiting for some official to initiate an investigation into this case because it is unprecedented when the head of a company allows himself to mentally abuse a person suffering from the war. Nothing happened, absolutely all WTA officials simply ignored the incident.”

Though the WTA player issued public and non-public complaints against Steve Simon, the organization has not issued any public statement. She feels that the CEO is guarded, irrespective of his moral stance. The player-coach duo questioned the credibility of WTA, who did not take action against such a CEO.

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The former twenty-third seed feels that WTA is trying to bury the incident that led to her panic attack. With the organization now deciding to interrogate the coach instead of the CEO, Tsurenko felt let down by the institution and is carrying immense pressure on her shoulder. Do you feel WTA has taken the right action?