Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk has backed Wimbledon ’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tournament. The tournament opted to prevent players from the two nations competing due to Russia ’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The All-England Club was criticised by many due to their decision and the tournament was stripped of ranking points by the ATP and WTA as a result. The likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal disagreed with the decision to ban players, but Kostyuk is thankful for the support shown to her country by the All-England Club.
The world number 79 told the PA news agency: "All the Ukrainian players are standing with Wimbledon for their decision and I don't honestly think just Ukrainian players. I think there are a bunch of players who support this decision. I mean, we can see how players still love and everyone, no matter the circumstances, is playing. Only a couple of withdrawals - due to injuries - but everyone is still playing and that melts my heart.
"I am glad players didn't turn their back on Wimbledon. It could have turned out differently. Players could have boycotted it and then Wimbledon wouldn't allow Russian or Belarusians anyway, but it was already very messy and not right since the beginning. Everything was not set correct and if something like this (boycott) happened, it would bring a lot of mess which is already here with us, so I am standing with Wimbledon. I say it 100 times."
The teen is one of four Ukrainian women set to compete on the hallowed turf in South West London this year. The Ukrainian number one Elina Svitolina is currently absent from the tour and recently announced her pregnancy.
Kostyuk broke into the world's top 50 in February but tennis has been far from her mind since Russia invaded Ukraine during the same month. Her family have left the country but her father still remains. "My dad is home in Kiev. The rest of the family is out. It is never safe because it is always, how do you say it, air raid sirens and all these things. I don't know how it goes. It is not easy to talk about or easy to process," Kostyuk added.
"I speak with a therapist. I don't think in circumstances like this you can process this information by yourself and deal with it by yourself. I know people who haven't been seeking help or anything like this and I can see how much it damages then.
"I have done a lot of work and it helped me not just on court but in different areas of my life. I am glad about it but the work goes on and hopefully it can get better."
Kostyuk began her grass court season in Eastbourne last week, reaching the round of 16 before losing to home favourite Harriet Dart. She is set to begin her Wimbledon campaign against Britain’s Katie Swan on Monday.
