‘You Need To Play With Them’- Ukraine Tennis Federation Releases a Message After Sabalenka-Tsurenko Drama at the 2023 Indian Wells

Every parent teaches this philosophy to their children as they mature and anytime they make a mistake because it encourages them to see the big picture. Similarly, Ukraine’s tennis federation, the parent board for Ukraine tennis players, recently shared the same philosophy, broadcasting their opinion opposing the Russian-Belarusian ban.

The Ukrainian-Russian war has undoubtedly been entrenched in the world of sports. The paradoxical situation has split the tennis world into two groups: those who simply want to play the game. And secondly, tennis players like Lesia Tsurenko who support the Ukrainian cause.

Ukraine’s Tennis Federation condemns the Russian-Belarusian ban 

After the upsetting incident, that took place in Indian Wells between a Ukrainian tennis player forfeiting a match against the 24-year-old Belarusian tennis player, Sabalenka, a lot of different opinions and voices shared their take on opposing the Russian-Belarusian ban. And, as reported by Russia’s official state news agency TASS, Ukraine’s Tennis Federation recently issued a statement concerning the same topic.

The UF released a statement saying, “If Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete. You need to play with them and win, and not avoid the battle. We stand with the position of continuing to compete in international competitions, intensifying the fight for the removal of players from Russia and Belarus.” 

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According to the statement, any decision to ban the Ukrainian tennis players from playing against Russian and Belarusian players would be destructive to the cause itself. However, for more context, let’s dive into what led to the momentous choice of words by the UTF.

What made the UTF issue a statement over the Russian-Belarusian ban?

A few days ago, during the Indian Wells tournament, Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko refused to play against a Belarusian tennis star,  Sabalenka. However, the Ukrainian player reasoned that her sudden withdrawal came because of a panic attack she had just before the match.

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But seeing the bigger picture, the tennis world is pointing out different political reasons for not playing against a Belarusian tennis player. Not only that, the tennis fans even pointed out that the 33-year-old tennis players’ Indian Wells political controversy might become a problem for Ukrainian tennis players. 

And with the Ukrainian tennis Federation statement, tennis fans’ predictions might have turned out to be true. What are your thoughts on the UTF opposing the Russian-Belarusian ban?